Julie Elizabeth Smith, Baroness Smith of Newnham (born 1 June 1969) is an academic specialising in European politics and a Liberal Democrat politician. From 2003 to 2015, she was a

local councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

on Cambridge City Council. Since September 2014, she has been 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 ...

and a 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 ...

Early life

Smith was born on 1 June 1969. From 1980 to 1987, she was educated at

Merchant Taylors' Girls' School Merchant Taylors' Girls' School is a selective independent girls' school in Great Crosby, Merseyside, England. History Merchant Taylors' Girls' School was established in 1888, having inherited the buildings from the boys' school that had move ...

, an all-girls selective

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

based in

Great Crosby Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, Merseyside, Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England and is Historic counties of England, historically, part of Lancashire. Location In 1907, the Victoria County History d ...

, Merseyside. After taking a gap year, she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. She then undertook postgraduate study in politics at

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economic ...

, graduating with a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

(MPhil) degree and a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Direct elections to the European Parliament: a reevaluation" and was submitted in 1995. Having been awarded a Hanseatic Scholarship, she undertook further study in Hamburg from 1995 to 1997.

Career

Academic career

Smith began her academic career lecturing in the International Relations and European Studies Department of the Central European University, an English-language university in Budapest, Hungary. In 1997, she joined the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

as a lecturer in

European politics The politics of Europe deals with the continually evolving politics within the continent of Europe. It is a topic far more detailed than other continents due to a number of factors including the long history of nation states in the region as ...

. She was later promoted to senior lecturer in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and became a

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Robinson College Robinson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both undergraduate and graduate students of bo ...

. From 1999 to 2003, she was additionally the head of the European Programme at Chatham House. She was made a

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in European Politics in October 2018.

Political career

Smith is a Liberal Democrat politician. From 2003 to May 2015, she was a

representing Newnham on Cambridge City Council. She is also a vice-chair of the Liberal Democrats Federal Policy Committee. In August 2014, it was announced that Smith would be made a

. On 12 September 2014 she was created Baroness Smith of Newnham, ''of Crosby in the County of Merseyside''. She made her maiden speech in the

on the same day.

Involvement in EU Referendum

As demonstrated by the topic of Smith's maiden speech, she is firmly convinced of the benefits that the EU brings to the UK. She has now taken an active involvement in Cambridge for Europe, a campaign which wants "to spread a positive message regarding the UK's continued involvement in the EU". Smith is one of the group's leading patrons.

Selected works

* * *

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Julie 1969 births Living people People educated at Merchant Taylors' Girls' School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford Fellows of Robinson College, Cambridge British political scientists British women academics Councillors in Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Academic staff of Central European University Chatham House people Women political scientists Women councillors in England Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II