Joyce Anne Anelay, Baroness Anelay of St Johns, (born 17 July 1947), is a

British Conservative Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...

politician, previously serving as

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

of the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

from August 2014 to June 2017. Anelay was appointed as

at the Department for Exiting the European Union in the Second May ministry, after the 2017 reshuffle.
Evening Standard (12 June 2017). Retrieved 12 June 2017. Anelay was Government

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

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 ...

from 12 May 2010 until 6 August 2014, having previously been

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

Chief Whip prior to the 2010 General Election.

Early life

Born in Hackney on 17 July 1947, daughter of Stanley Clarke, she was christened Joyce Anne and was educated locally at Enfield County School. She attended

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, graduating with the degree of BA and after further studies at

Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

, took the postgraduate degree of MA. Following university, Anelay worked as a secondary school teacher from 1969 to 1974. She later became a volunteer adviser with the

Citizens' Advice Bureau Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this nation ...

, served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Surrey and sat on the

Social Security Appeal Tribunal The Social Security Appeal Tribunal was a tribunal in the United Kingdom which heard appeals from decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs and local authorities regarding entitlement to various forms of soc ...

Political career

Prior to her elevation to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

, Anelay held a number of senior posts in the Conservative Party organisation. She was Chair of the Conservative Women's National Committee from 1993 to 1996, appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1990, and in 1995 was promoted

Dame Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mil ...

(DBE). She was created 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 Anelay of St Johns, of St John's in the County of Surrey in 1996. Between May 1997 and June 2002, Baroness Anelay served in various Conservative front bench posts, including Opposition Whip and Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport. She was a Shadow Home Office Minister from June 2002 to July 2007, and from 2 July 2007, she served as Opposition Chief Whip in the

until 2010. In 2009, Anelay was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. After the General Election, on 12 May 2010, Anelay was appointed Government

in the Lords and Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. On 6 August 2014, the day after

Baroness Warsi Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, Baroness Warsi, (; born 28 March 1971) is a British lawyer, politician, and member of the House of Lords who served as Chairman of the Conservative Party, co-Chairwoman of the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2012. She se ...

's resignation, Anelay was appointed in Warsi's place as

Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth The minister of state for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations is a mid-level position in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the British government. It is currently held by Tariq Ahmad, who took the offic ...

, attending Cabinet (although not as a member). Anelay did not on take on Warsi's faith and communities brief, which reverted to

Eric Pickles Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar (UK Parliament co ...

. In April 2017, Anelay expressed concerns about reports of homophobia in Chechnya, and she released the following statement: "The detention and ill-treatment of over 100 gay men in Chechnya is extremely concerning. Reports have also suggested that at least three of these men have been killed." In May 2020, as Chairwoman of the International Relations and Defence Committee in Britain's House of Lords, she questioned whether Israel should continue to receive preferential access to the U.K. market if the plan for annexing West Bank territory, as laid out in the incoming unity government's coalition agreement, proceeds.

Personal life

Anelay married in 1970, her university contemporary, Richard Anelay, QC, a

Deputy High Court Judge The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

, leading

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

and

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, and former head of 1

King's Bench Walk King's Bench Walk is a street in Temple, London, Temple, in the City of London. It is mainly made up of barristers' chambers. History King's Bench Walk is located in the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court. The other three Inns of Court ...

Chambers.

Arms

References

External links

Joyce Anelay
on the Conservative Party website
www.burkespeerage.com – ANELAY OF ST JOHNS, LPwww.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk
*

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anelay of St Johns, Joyce Anelay, Baroness 1947 births Alumni of Brunel University London Alumni of the University of Bristol Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Conservative Party (UK) life peers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Government ministers of the United Kingdom Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Living people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Hackney, London People from Surrey Women government ministers in the United Kingdom