Gisela Stuart
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Gisela Stuart, Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston (''
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Gschaider; born 26 November 1955) is a British-German politician and
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
who served as
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham Edgbaston is a constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Preet Gill, a Labour and Co-operative MP. The most high-profile MP for the constituency was former Prime Minister Neville Chamber ...
from 1997 to 2017. A former member of the Labour Party, she now sits as a crossbencher in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
. Born and raised in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, Stuart moved to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in 1974. Elected for
Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham Edgbaston is a constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Preet Gill, a Labour and Co-operative MP. The most high-profile MP for the constituency was former Prime Minister Neville Chamber ...
at the 1997 general election, she was chair of the
Vote Leave Vote Leave was a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leav ...
Campaign Committee and was one of its most high-profile figures, along with the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
MPs
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
and Michael Gove. The Vote Leave campaign was successful in achieving its goal at the
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
of winning a majority of votes for Leave. From 2016 to 2020, she served as chair of Vote Leave's successor organisation,
Change Britain Change Britain was a pressure group in the United Kingdom set up in 2016 by leaders of the Vote Leave campaign following the 2016 Referendum, in which 51.9% of participating voters voted in favour of leaving the European Union. History Chang ...
. After she had left Parliament, Stuart was appointed by the Conservative government as chair of
Wilton Park Wilton Park is an executive agency of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office providing a global forum for strategic discussion. Based since 1951 at Wiston House in Sussex, it organises over 70 dialogues a year in the UK and overs ...
, an executive agency of the UK Foreign Office dedicated to conflict resolution in international relations, in October 2018. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Constitution Reform Group (CRG), a cross-party organisation chaired by
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, Baron Gascoyne-Cecil, (born 30 September 1946), is a British Conservative politician. From 1979 to 1987 he represented South Dorset in the House of Commons, and in the 1990s he wa ...
, which seeks a new constitutional settlement in the UK by way of a new Act of Union. The Constitution Reform Group's new Act of Union Bill was introduced as a Private Member's Bill on 9 October 2018. Baroness Stuart was appointed as the
First Civil Service Commissioner The First Civil Service Commissioner heads the Civil Service Commission, a statutory body which ensures that appointments to the Civil Service in the United Kingdom are made openly and on merit, and hears appeals from civil servants under the Civ ...
in March 2022.


Early life

Gisela Gschaider was born in Velden,
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
on 26 November 1955 to Martin and Liane Gschaider. She attended the Staatliche
Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...
in
Vilsbiburg Vilsbiburg (, regional: Vib ɪb is a town on the river Große Vils, 18 km southeast of Landshut, in the district of Landshut, in Bavaria, Germany. The city owes its name to the river Große Vils which runs through Vilsbiburg. As of 2019 ...
. After doing an apprenticeship in bookselling, she moved to the UK in 1974 in order to improve her English and to do a Business Studies course at
Manchester Polytechnic Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
. She was deputy director of the 1983
London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and di ...
. Stuart subsequently relocated to the Midlands. She graduated from the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
with an
LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
in 1993, having studied through the
University of London External System The University of London Worldwide (previously called the University of London International Academy) is the central academic body that manages external study programmes within the collegiate university, federal University of London. All courses ...
. She began researching for a PhD in trust law (ownership of pension funds) at the
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
while she also lectured Law to AAT students at Worcestershire College, but did not complete her PhD and instead went into politics full-time. In 1994, as Gisela Gschaider, Stuart contested the Worcester and South Warwickshire seat at the
European elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until ...
for Labour. She lost by 1,000 votes.


Parliamentary career

In 1995, Stuart was selected as Labour's parliamentary candidate for the
Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham Edgbaston is a constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Preet Gill, a Labour and Co-operative MP. The most high-profile MP for the constituency was former Prime Minister Neville Chamber ...
constituency. The constituency, which had once been held by former Conservative
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Neville Chamberlain (1937–40), had returned only
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
MPs for 99 years. The sitting Conservative MP at the time, Dame
Jill Knight Joan Christabel Jill Knight, Baroness Knight of Collingtree, (; 9 July 1923 – 6 April 2022) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1966 to 1997. ...
, was retiring after 31 years. On 1 May 1997, Stuart was elected as the first-ever Labour MP for the constituency, making it one of a succession of traditional Conservative seats to fall to Labour control in a landslide victory for the party. Stuart's victory was the first televised Labour gain of the evening. During the
First Blair ministry The first Blair ministry lasted from May 1997 to June 2001. After eighteen years in opposition, Labour ousted the Conservatives at the May 1997 election with a 179-seat majority. The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who turned 44 years old days af ...
, Stuart served on the Social Security Select Committee and in 1998 as PPS to Home Office Minister of State
Paul Boateng Paul Yaw Boateng, Baron Boateng (born 14 June 1951) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming the UK's first Black Cabinet Minister in May 2002, when he was appoi ...
, before joining the government in 1999 as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health. Stuart left this post in the reshuffle that followed after the 2001 election. Her
election agent An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is ...
in that election was John Clancy, who became Leader of
Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...
in 2015. In Blair's second ministry, Stuart was appointed as one of the UK Parliamentary Representatives to the
European Convention Several bodies or treaties are known as European Convention. Bodies of the European Union * European Convention (1999–2000) which drafted the: ** ''Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union'' (2000 / 2009) * Convention on the Future of ...
, which was tasked with drawing up a new constitution for the European Union. In this capacity, Stuart also served as one of the thirteen members of the Convention's Presidium – the steering group responsible for managing the business of the Convention. When the draft Constitution emerged, Stuart was one of the most trenchant critics of the proposal, stating that it had been drawn up by a "self-selected group of the European political elite" determined to deepen European integration. She subsequently expounded these views in a 2004
Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
pamphlet, ''The Making of Europe's Constitution''. Consequently, she argued in favour of
British withdrawal from the European Union Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
, becoming one of the leading Eurosceptic figures in the Labour Party. In October 2004, she became the only Labour MP who openly supported the
re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
of
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
at that year's U.S. presidential election, arguing "you know where you stand with George and, in today's world, that's much better than rudderless leaders who drift with the prevailing wind". She wrote that a victory for
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
challenger,
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
, would prompt "victory celebrations among those who want to destroy liberal democracies. More terrorists and suicide bombers would step forward to become martyrs in their quest to destroy the West". Between 2001 and 2010, Stuart also served as a member of the House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. She retained her seat at the 2005 election but her majority was halved in both percentage and numerical terms. Despite the predictions of the pundits, Stuart went on to retain the seat at the 2010 general election, against a national tide of Labour defeat. The election resulted in the first hung parliament in 36 years, with the Conservatives having the most seats. It earned her the title of Survivor of the Year at ''The Spectator'' magazine's 2010 Parliamentarian of the Year awards, which was presented to her by the new Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron. She retained her seat at the 2015 election with a majority of 2,706 votes, more than double her majority from 2010. She joined the Commons Select Committee on Defence. Stuart is a signatory of the
Henry Jackson Society The Henry Jackson Society (HJS) is a trans-Atlantic foreign policy and national security think tank, based in the United Kingdom. While describing itself as non-partisan, its outlook has been described variously as neoliberal and as neoconser ...
principles, which promote the spread of
liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
across the world and the maintenance of a strong military with global expeditionary reach. She was sworn in as a member of the
Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of e ...
in 2015, giving her the honorific title "
The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
" for life. Since 2015, Stuart has been a Steering Committee member of the Constitution Reform Group (CRG), a cross-party pressure group of current and former politicians, academics, constitutional law experts, former officials in Parliament and government and ordinary citizens. The CRG seeks a new constitutional settlement in the UK by way of a new Act of Union. The Constitution Reform Group's new Act of Union Bill was introduced as a Private Member's Bill by
Lord Lisvane Robert James Rogers, Baron Lisvane, (born 5 February 1950) is a British life peer and retired public servant. He served as Clerk of the House of Commons from October 2011 until August 2014. Following his elevation as a Life Peer in 2014, Lord ...
in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
on 9 October 2018, when it received a formal first reading. The BBC described the Bill as "one to watch" in that Parliament. She announced on 19 April 2017 that she would not seek re-election at the 2017 snap general election. She was succeeded by
Preet Gill Preet Kaur Gill (Punjabi: ਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਕੌਰ ਗਿੱਲ, born 21 November 1972) is a British politician serving as Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development since 2020. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she h ...
, a
Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candida ...
politician, and the first female British Sikh MP. In 2019, Stuart announced she would vote for the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
in the 2019 general election. She remained a member of the Labour Party after the election.


Vote Leave

Stuart served as Chair of
Vote Leave Vote Leave was a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leav ...
, the body which was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum on European Union membership. Other spokespersons for Vote Leave included Conservative MPs
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
and Michael Gove. There were various other groups advocating for Leave, officially working independently of Vote Leave, including UKIP and the Labour Leave. In the BBC's two-hour televised debate on the EU referendum, Stuart appeared on the "Leave" panel, along with the Conservative MPs
Andrea Leadsom Dame Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (; ' Salmon; born 13 May 1963) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Northamptonshire since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Secretary of State for Environ ...
and
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
. Stuart's own constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston voted to Remain in the EU. After stepping down at the 2017 general election, Stuart revealed that she had pushed for an exit clause in the
European Constitution The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European U ...
, which later became Article 50 of the
Treaty on European Union The Treaty on European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU form the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's ...
. Article 50 allows for
withdrawal from the European Union Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process whereby an EU member state ceases to be a member of the Union. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from t ...
by any member state and was invoked for the first and only time by Prime Minister
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...
on 29 March 2017.


Outside of politics

In 2016, Stuart became the sixth President of the
Birmingham Bach Choir Birmingham Bach Choir is one of the Birmingham’s oldest musical groups, predating both the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and the City of Birmingham Choir.Wilton Park Wilton Park is an executive agency of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office providing a global forum for strategic discussion. Based since 1951 at Wiston House in Sussex, it organises over 70 dialogues a year in the UK and overs ...
, an executive agency of the UK Foreign Office dedicated to conflict resolution in international relations, on 1 October 2018. From 2020-2022 Stuart was the lead non-executive board member of the Cabinet Office. She was appointed as
First Civil Service Commissioner The First Civil Service Commissioner heads the Civil Service Commission, a statutory body which ensures that appointments to the Civil Service in the United Kingdom are made openly and on merit, and hears appeals from civil servants under the Civ ...
in March 2022. Stuart was appointed an Honorary Captain in the
Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
in July 2021.


Personal life

She is a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. She has two sons. She married Robert Stuart in 1980, and they divorced in 2000. She then married Derek Scott in 2010. Scott died in 2012.


Notes


References


External links

* *
TheyWorkForYou.com – Gisela Stuart MP
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Gisela 1955 births Living people 20th-century German women politicians 21st-century German women politicians Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Birmingham British Eurosceptics British Roman Catholics Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies German emigrants to England Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People from Landshut (district) Politicians from Bavaria UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs who were granted peerages 20th-century German women 20th-century German people 21st-century British women 21st-century British people Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Royal Naval Reserve personnel