Lindsay Patricia Northover, Baroness Northover, (born 21 August 1954; née Granshaw) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

academic,

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

politician, 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 ...

, and former junior government minister.

Early life

The daughter of Charles and Patricia Granshaw, Northover was born on 21 August 1954. She was educated at

Brighton and Hove High School Brighton Girls, formerly Brighton and Hove High School, is an independent day school for girls aged 4 to 18 in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. Brighton Girls GDST is ISI rated ‘Excellent’. The school was founded in 1876 ...

, a

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 ...

for girls in Brighton. She went on to study at

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. It has some 450 undergraduate and 200 ...

, where in 1976 she graduated

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

modern history The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

(later promoted to

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

). She received an English-Speaking Union Scholarship and a Mrs Giles Whiting Fellowship to study at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, receiving an examined

degree in 1978 and graduating as a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in the

history and philosophy of science The history and philosophy of science (HPS) is an Discipline (academia), academic discipline that encompasses the philosophy of science and the History of science and technology, history of science. Although many scholars in the field are trained ...

in 1981.

Career

Academic career

Northover was awarded a research fellowship at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and St Mark's Hospital from 1980 to 1983, and a further research fellowship in 1983–84 at

St Thomas's Hospital Medical School St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. The school was absorbed to form part of King's College London. History It was part of one of the oldest hospitals in London, ...

in London. She was then appointed Lecturer at University College London and

Wellcome Institute The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine (1968–1999) was a London centre for the study and teaching of medical history. It consisted of the Wellcome Library and an Academic Unit. The former was and is a world-class library collection ...

in 1984, where she taught medical students, human science students and others from across the University of London, and carried out research on the history of modern medicine, authoring various academic books and articles.

Political career

Northover contested

Welwyn Hatfield The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield is a local government district in southern Hertfordshire, England, governed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. It covers the two towns of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, along with numerous smaller settlements ...

in the

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

and

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

general elections, and

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

in the 1997 general election. She was a member of the committee which negotiated the merger between the Liberal Party and the SDP in 1987–1988, forming the Liberal Democrats. She was Chair of Women Liberal Democrats 1992–1995, Chair of the SDP and then the Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Candidates Association 1987–1991, and subsequently its Vice-President, and Chair of the Health and Social Welfare Association, 1987–1988. On 1 May 2000, 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 ...

, taking her married name of Northover, as Baroness Northover, of Cissbury in the County of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. She was the Liberal Democrats Health Spokesperson in the House of Lords 2000–02 and main frontbench Liberal Democrats Spokesperson on International Development in the House of Lords, 2002–2010. She has been a member of various House of Lords Select Committees including those on Embryonic Stem Cell Research (2001–02), and on the European Union (Sub-Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and International Development 2003–04; Sub-Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs, 2008–10). In 2010 under the Coalition Government, she was appointed as Government Whip (

Baroness-in-Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

) and Spokesperson on International Development, Health, Justice and Women and Equalities, later covering Education, DCMS and DEFRA, instead of Justice and Health. Northover was a Member of Council of the Overseas Development Institute, 2005–2010; Trustee of the Tropical Health and Education Trust, 2007–10; Vice-Chair of the British Council Associate Parliamentary Group, 2007–10; Vice-Chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, 2008–10; Trustee of the Liberal Democrats, 2009–11; Trustee of UNICEF UK, 2009–10; Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV/AIDS; Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Aid, Debt and Trade; and Secretary of the All Party Group on Overseas Development. She was promoted to become Under Secretary of State in the Department for International Development in November 2014.

Personal life

Northover has three adult children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Northover, Lindsay Northover, Baroness 1954 births Living people Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford University of Pennsylvania alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni People educated at Brighton and Hove High School Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates