Rosalind Carol "Ros" Scott, Baroness Scott of Needham Market (born 10 August 1957) is a British Liberal Democrat politician, non-exec director of the National Archives and a member of the House of Lords. Baroness Scott was president of the Liberal Democrats between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2010 and was succeeded by

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 h ...

Early life and education

The daughter of Kenneth Vincent and Carol Leadbeater, she was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ; Archaism, archaically Somersetshire , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the so ...

. Her father, an RAF serviceman, was posted abroad through much of her childhood, including Cyprus and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...

. She was educated at Whitby Grammar School and Kent School, Hostert, in Germany. She was further educated at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution ...

, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in European Studies with German in 1999. Scott worked for the Passage Day Care Centre and is Honourable President of the East Coast Sailing Trust. She is also patron of the Pickerel Environment Project, the Pakenham Water Mill Trust and the Wings of Hope Charity Appeal.

Political career

Local government (1991–2005)

She was a Liberal Democrat councillor in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowesto ...

from 1991 to 2005, representing Needham Market on Mid Suffolk District Council (1991–94) and Bosmere on Suffolk County Council (1993-2005). She held a number of positions on the County Council, including Group Leader in the joint administration with the Labour Party. She was appointed to the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is p ...

Transport Executive in 1997, became Chair in 2001 and is now Vice-President of the organisation. She represented UK local government in Europe as a member of the

Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

from 1997 to 2001 and as part of the

North Sea Commission The North Sea Commission (NSC) is an international organization founded in 1989. It facilitates partnerships between regions connected with the North Sea and promotes the North Sea Region as an economic entity within Europe. It is part of the C ...

House of Lords (2000–present)

On 11 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 A ...

as Baroness Scott of Needham Market, of

Needham Market Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. The town of Needham, Massachusetts, was named after Needham Market. History It initially grew around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 1665. ...

in the County of

. Baroness Scott has served on numerous committees in the House of Lords, including the domestic Liaison Committee and the

Communication Committee Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

. She served on the Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill from July 2011 to March 2012, taking the view that the House of Lords needs major reform. She currently serves on the

European Union Committee The European Union Committee is a select committee of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its terms of reference are "To consider European Union documents and other matters relating to the European Union", as well as "to ...

and chairs its Energy and Environment Sub-Committee.

Liberal Democrats

In 2008, she stood down as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Communities and Local Government to concentrate on being a candidate to be President of the Liberal Democrats. On 8 November 2008, it was announced that she had won the ballot of party members to become President of the Liberal Democrats, beating

Lembit Öpik Lembit Öpik (, ; born 2 March 1965) is a former British politician. A former member of the Liberal Democrats, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat at the ...

by a margin of 72% to 22%. She took office as President on 1 January 2009. She later stood down as president and was succeeded by

in 2011.

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (2015–2017)

At the 36th Annual Congress of the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...

(ALDE), held in Budapest, Hungary from 19–21 November 2015, she was elected to be one of ALDE's seven Vice-Presidents for a two-year term.

Professional life

She has been a

Non-Executive Director A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of th ...

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

, Entrust, the Landfill Tax regulator and ITV, and was also a member of the Commission for Integrated Transport

think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental o ...

. She is currently a non-Executive Director of the Harwich Haven Authority, and is the Liberal Democrat-nominated member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Personal life

Scott was married, but was divorced later. She has a daughter, Sally, and a son, Jamie. On 22 April 2008 she married fellow Liberal Democrat, Mark Valladares.

References

External links

Liberal Democrats siteLiberal Democrat presidential campaign siteBiography
from Dods Online
Biography
from the UK Parliament website {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Rosalind 1957 births Living people Members of Suffolk County Council Alumni of the University of East Anglia Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Scott of Needham Market Women councillors in England