Ilora Gillian Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, FMedSci (born 23 February 1949) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

palliative medicine In 2006, ''hospice and palliative medicine'' was officially recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, and is ''co-sponsored'' by the American Boards of * Internal Medicine * Anesthesiology * Family Medicine * Physical Medicine ...

, and a

Crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

member of 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 the only daughter of Professor Charles Beaumont Benoy Downman, Ilora married Andrew Yule Finlay in 1972, with whom she has two children, but is now divorced. She is a past president of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

. She is a professor of

Cardiff University School of Medicine The Cardiff University School of Medicine ( cy, Ysgol Feddygaeth Prifysgol Caerdydd) is the medical school of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Founded in 1893 as part of the University College of South Wales and Monmouth ...

, and is consultant at the

Velindre Cancer Centre The Velindre Cancer Centre ( cy, Canolfan Ganser Felindre) is a specialist facility caring for cancer patients in Whitchurch, Cardiff, Wales. It is managed by the Velindre University NHS Trust. History The facility was established as Velindre Ho ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. On 28 June 2001, she was made a

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 ...

as Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, of

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

in the County of South Glamorgan. In 2003 she proposed a bill to ban smoking in public buildings in Wales, three years before it was eventually implemented. In 2007, Lady Finlay introduced a private members bill seeking to change the current system of organ donation from 'opt in' to 'opt out'. Parliamentary timing did not allow for this bill to proceed but the principle continues to be debated. Two years later she succeeded in changing government policy on organ donation to allow potential organ donors to be able to specify a family member or close friend to whom they wish to donate their organ(s). In March 2010, Baroness Finlay sponsored the Sunbeds (Regulation) Bill as it reached the House of Lords for scrutiny. With just weeks before the forthcoming general election, Baroness Finlay, with Government and Opposition front bench support, took the MP

Julie Morgan Julie Morgan (née Edwards; 2 November 1944) is a Welsh Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of the Senedd for Cardiff North seat in the Senedd since the 2011 election. She was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff Nort ...

's private members bill through its final stages, to

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

. Baroness Finlay is a co-chair of the

All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group The All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG) is an official All-Party Parliamentary Group of the UK Parliament, co-chaired by Barry Sheerman MP and Baroness Finlay of Llandaff. The group exists to tackle carbon monoxide (CO) pois ...

, which brings together parliamentarians committed to tackling

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large e ...

. In October 2011, following a six-month inquiry which she chaired, the Group produced a report entitled
Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
', including a number of recommendations for policy and behaviour change. Lady Finlay also chairs the
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dying Well
', which promotes palliative care. She is a Vice President of

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

, Patron of

The Trussell Trust The Trussell Trust is an Non-governmental organization, NGO and charity that works to end the need for food banks in the United Kingdom. It supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centres to provide emergency food and compassionate, practical su ...

's foodbank network in Wales, and the

Motor Neurone Disease Association The Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND Association) focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by motor neurone disease (MND) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. MND is also know ...

. She is also patron of

Student Volunteering Cardiff Skills and Volunteering Cymru (SVC), formerly Student Volunteering Cardiff, is an independent charity registered in the UK and based in the Cardiff area. SVC offers volunteering opportunities to both students and community members in and around ...

She was a Founding Fellow of the

Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales (Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation ...

and is a Member of its inaugural Council. She is patron of the award-winning charity Students for Kids International Projects (1099804). In 2017, she was appointed one of two patrons of the

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the society gained it ...

, the other being fellow member of the House of Lords,

Baroness Brown of Cambridge Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

. In March 2015, Finlay was awarded the

Grassroot Diplomat Grassroot Diplomat is a global non-profit, non-political, diplomatic consultancy established in 2013. The consultancy specialises in digital diplomacy and public diplomacy working with foreign governments and citizen diplomats to help build positi ...

Initiative Honouree for her vigorous champion to improving the care of dying patients. In 2020, Finlay served as chairwoman of th
Alcohol Harms Commission
whic
recommended that England
establish a minimum unit price for alcohol. She is a longstanding opponent of any change in the law on assisted suicide.

Arms

References

External links

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff at TheyWorkForYou.com
*
Baroness Finlay, Grassroot Diplomat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay of Llandaff Living people 20th-century Welsh medical doctors 21st-century Welsh medical doctors Crossbench life peers People's peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales Academics of Cardiff University Welsh women medical doctors Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine 1949 births Presidents of the Medical Women's Federation 20th-century women physicians 21st-century women physicians