Meral Hussein Ece, Baroness Hussein-Ece, (born 10 October 1955) 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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

. She is the first woman of

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

origin to be a member of either house of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

after she was appointed a Liberal Democrat

working 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 ...

on 28 May 2010. She was the Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman for Equalities from 2015 until 2016, under leader

Tim Farron Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, before which he worked in ...

Early life

Baroness Hussein-Ece was born in Islington. Her

parents, Ayshe Cuma Abdullah (mother) and Hasan Nihat Hussein (father), came to the UK from

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in the early 1950s, and settled in Islington, North

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Ece and her second cousin

Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, CBE, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and ...

's paternal great-grandfather, Abdullah, was reportedly a Sudanese slave in the Ottoman Empire.

Career

Ece originally studied art history and fine art at

Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, before going to work in local government and training as a librarian. She subsequently worked for Islington Council's Race Equality Unit, then went to work as a senior manager in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, including as chief officer for Haringey Community Health Council. She was elected as to

Hackney Council Hackney London Borough Council is the local government authority for the London Borough of Hackney, London, England, one of 32 London borough councils. The council is unusual in the United Kingdom local government system in that its executive fu ...

as a Labour Party councillor for Clissold ward in 1994, and was Deputy Leader in 1995 and 1996. She was the first woman from a Turkish/Cypriot background elected to public office in the UK. Following a split in the Hackney Labour group, in 1997 Ece joined the Liberal Democrats; she was re-elected to Hackney Borough Council in

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...

ward in 1998. She was instrumental in setting up the very first Turkish Women's Group, and establishing a

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

project for Turkish and Kurdish women. In the local government elections of 2002, was elected as Liberal Democrat councillor for Mildmay ward on

Islington Council Islington London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Finsbury Metropolitan Borough Co ...

. She was the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care from 2002 to 2006, serving as chair of the Islington Health Partnership board and as a member of Islington Primary Care Trust board. She was also a non-executive director of Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust. After being re-elected in 2006, Ece was chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee from 2007 to 2009. In November 2009, Ece was appointed as a commissioner to the

Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of eq ...

(EHRC). In November 2012, Hussein-Ece and Lord

Simon Woolley Simon Andrew Woolley, Baron Woolley of Woodford, (born 24 December 1961) is a political and equalities activist. He is the founder and director of Operation Black Vote and Trustee of the charity Police Now. Woolley has been a crossbench member ...

were not reappointed to their roles and later claimed that they had been forced out because they were "too loud and vocal" about issues of race. In May 2008, Ece was appointed by the Minister for Equalities,

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...

MP to serve on the Government's Task Force to increase the numbers of ethnic minority women councillors in the UK. Ece was awarded the OBE in the Queens New Year Honours 2009, for services to local government. She was chair of the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (2007–10) and was a member of the Liberal Democrats Federal Executive Committee 2005–10, and advised

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicepr ...

MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on community cohesion and minority ethnic communities. It was announced by the UK Cabinet Office on 28 May 2010 that Hussein-Ece was to be appointed to the

. 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 ...

on 25 June 2010 taking the title Baroness Hussein-Ece, of

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

in the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

. She made her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

at the House of Lords on 15 July 2010 in a debate on criminal justice. In November 2012, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (DLitt) by

Coventry University , mottoeng = By Art and Industry , established = , type = Public , endowment = £28 million (2015) , budget = £787.5 million , chancellor = Margaret Casely-Hayford , vice_chancellor = John Latham , students = () , undergr ...

, for her work to promote equality for ethnic minorities in the UK, and contribution to peace in Cyprus. In May 2011 Hussein-Ece apologised after she referred to customers in her local supermarket as "

chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * "Chavette" is a related te ...

s". She claimed the word was not derogatory, but writers such as

Polly Toynbee Mary Louisa "Polly" Toynbee (; born 27 December 1946) is a British journalist and writer. She has been a columnist for ''The Guardian'' newspaper since 1998. She is a social democrat and was a candidate for the Social Democratic Party in the 19 ...

criticised her, arguing that the term was "acceptable class abuse by people asserting superiority over those they despise". In 2015 she joined

's Spokesperson team as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Equalities.

Personal life

She has 3 children.

References

External links

Houses of Parliament biography

They Work for You profile - links to all speeches in the Lords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussein-Ece, Meral 1955 births Living people Turkish people of Sudanese descent British people of Turkish Cypriot descent English people of Turkish Cypriot descent English people of Sudanese descent People from Islington (district) Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Councillors in the London Borough of Islington Councillors in the London Borough of Hackney Labour Party (UK) councillors Officers of the Order of the British Empire British politicians of Turkish descent Alumni of London Metropolitan University Women councillors in England