Lady Helen Olga Hay (''née'' Maitland; born 23 May 1944), usually known as Lady Olga Maitland, is a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician and journalist, formerly member of parliament for Sutton and Cheam.

Family and education

The daughter of Patrick Maitland, 17th Earl of Lauderdale, and his wife Stanka (''née'' Losanitch), Maitland was educated at St Mary and St Anne's School,

Abbots Bromley Abbots Bromley is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire and lies approximately east of Stafford, England. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Abbots ...

, later the

Abbots Bromley School for Girls Abbots Bromley School (previously the School of S. Mary and S. Anne, Abbots Bromley before becoming Abbots Bromley School for Girls) was a coeducational boarding and day independent school in the village of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, Engla ...

, and the

Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, usually referred to as the Lycée or the French Lycée, is a French co-educational primary and secondary independent school, independent day school, situated in South Kensington in the Royal Borough ...

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

Career

Maitland was a reporter for the Fleet Street News Agency and the ''Blackheath and District Reporter'', and a columnist for the ''Sunday Express'' (1967–91). In 1983 she was founder and thereafter chairman of Families for Defence, and from 1992 was President of the Defence and Security Forum. In 1998 she became a contributor to the ''Daily Mail''. In 2005, Lady Olga Maitland launched the Algeria British Business Council (ABBC) in partnership with Arslan Chikhaoui. She is currently the ABBC chairman.

Politics

In the mid-1980s, Maitland formed the campaigning group

Women and Families for Defence Women and Families for Defence was a Conservative-aligned pressure group originally founded in March 1983 as Women for Defence. It was founded in opposition to the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and a ...

, which aimed to counter the protests against the deployment of American Cruise missiles on British soil and to oppose the

Greenham Common Peace Camp Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a series of protest camps established to protest against nuclear weapons being placed at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began on 5 September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life ...

. In the 1980s, Maitland reported to MI5 that a Russian journalist and spy, Yuri Sagaidak, tried to recruit her. Sagaidak was exposed and sent back to the Soviet Union in 1989. At the 1987 General Election, Maitland was the

Prospective Parliamentary Candidate at Bethnal Green and Stepney, but was unsuccessful. She subsequently became

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Sutton and Cheam from 1992 to the 1997 General Election, which removed the Conservative Party from government, when she lost to

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 ...

Paul Burstow Paul Kenneth Burstow (born 13 May 1962) is a British former politician who served as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam for 18 years, from 1997 to 2015, when he was defeated by Paul Scully. He was appointed Minis ...

. She unsuccessfully fought the seat again in 2001. During her time as an MP at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, Maitland was a member of the Parliamentary Select Committees for Education, Health and Procedures, Northern Ireland, and Defence and Foreign Affairs, and was sometime secretary to the Conservative Backbench Committee. She was also a member of the Yugoslav Parliamentary Group. She promoted

Private Members Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

s in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on Prisoner's Return to Custody (1995), and Offensive Weapons (1996), and in 1996–97 was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir John Wheeler, then Minister of State for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

at the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...

Marriage

On 19 April 1969, Maitland married Robin William Patrick Hamilton Hay, M.A., LL.B., a barrister who later became a Crown Court Recorder. They have two sons, Alastair and Fergus, and a daughter, Camilla.

Publications

* ''Peace Studies in our Schools'' (1985; contributor) * ''Margaret Thatcher: the first ten years'' (1989) * ''Faith in the Family'' (1997) * ''Political Indoctrination in Our Schools''.

References

* ''Times Guide to the House of Commons 1997'' * Dewar, Peter Beauclerk, ''Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain - The Kingdom in Scotland'', 19th edition, vol.1, 2001, p. 973, * Crooks, John, & Green, Alison, editors, ''Debrett's People of Today 2001'', 14th edition, London, p. 1286,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maitland, Olga 1944 births Living people Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1992–1997 Daughters of Scottish earls People educated at Abbots Bromley School for Girls People educated at Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people