Ruth Beatrice Henig, Baroness Henig

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, DL (born Ruth Beatrice Munzer on 10 November 1943) is a British academic

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and Labour Party politician.

Family

Her parents were Kurt and Elfrieda Munzer,

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

refugees who came to the United Kingdom from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1940. Henig was married in 1966 to fellow academic

Stanley Henig Stanley Henig (born 7 July 1939) is a British academic and former Labour Party politician. He was Deputy Pro-Chancellor of Lancaster University from 2006 until 2011. Early life Stanley Henig was born on 7 July 1939 in Leicester, the son of t ...

, who shortly afterward became a Labour

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 of ...

(MP). They have two children and divorced in 1993. Their son,

Simon Henig Simon Antony Henig (born June 1969) is a British politician, former leader of Durham County Council, and since 15 April 2014, chair of the North East Combined Authority (NECA). Early life Simon Henig was born in June 1969, the son of the form ...

, is the leader of the

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, e ...

, chair of the

North East Combined Authority The North East Combined Authority, abbreviated to NECA, is one of three combined authorities in North East England. It was created in 2014, and currently consists of the City of Sunderland; Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, South Tyneside; and ...

, and a lecturer in politics at

Sunderland University , mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status) , staff = , chancellor = Emeli ...

. She remarried in 1994 to Jack Johnstone.

Academic career

Henig was educated at Wyggeston Girls Grammar School in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, and at

Bedford College, London file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...

, where she graduated in 1965 with a

B.A. 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 ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. She was awarded a PhD in history from

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

in 1978, where she was a lecturer in Modern European History. She has written several books and pamphlets on 20th-century international history. She served as

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities from 1997 to 2000, and in April 2006, she was one of six people to receive the first Honorary Fellowships of Lancaster University.

Political career

Henig was a Labour member of

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

from 1981 to 2005, serving as the Council's chair from 1999 to 2000. She was also Chair of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Police Authority A police authority in the United Kingdom is a public authority that is responsible for overseeing the operations of a police force. The nature and composition of police authorities has varied over time, and there are now just four dedicated "police ...

from 1995 to 2005 and chair of the

Association of Police Authorities Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

from 1997 to 2005, when she became the Association's president. She was also a member of the National Criminal Justice Board from 2003 to 2005. At the 1992 general election, she stood as Labour candidate for her husband's former

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

seat of Lancaster. She failed to unseat the sitting

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 i ...

Elaine Kellett-Bowman Dame Mary Elaine Kellett-Bowman, DBE (née Kay; 8 July 1923 – 4 March 2014) was a British Conservative Party politician, serving as Member of Parliament ( MP) for the constituency of Lancaster for 27 years from 1970 to 1997. Life and care ...

, but reduced the Conservative majority to just under 3,00

down from 6,500 in 1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987br>
Henig was awarded a

in 2000 for services to policing, and in 2002 was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant for

. She was made 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 8 June 2004 as Baroness Henig, of Lancaster in the County of

. She became a Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords in 2015. In June 2013 Baroness Henig was awarded with The Association of Security Consultant's Award, part of the Imbert Prize named after the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Lord Lieutenant of Greater London. In an industry first, the prize, awarded to the most person making the most notable contribution to the security industry in the preceding year was shared with Don Randall MBE, the head of security to the Bank of England. It was judged that Baroness Henig's contributions to the industry as Chair of the Security Industry Authority in overseeing the regulatory overhaul and building of a new and modern, fit-for-purpose regulatory regime made he an outstanding candidate. On 20 December 2006 the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Dr John Reid MP appointed Lady Henig as Chairman of the

Security Industry Authority The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the statutory organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the UK. Established as a non-departmental public body in 2003, the SIA reports to the Home Secretary under the ter ...

(aka the “SIA�

a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of n ...

tasked with the regulation of the private security industry. Having stepped down as Chair from the SIA after six years in March 2013, the Baroness continues to work towards building a unified voice for the industry having just been appointed as president of the Security Institute in April 2016. She is now non-executive chairman with UK firm SecuriGroup and, as of March 2019, the chairman of the Register of Chartered Security Professionals.

Interests

Lady Henig's main leisure activity is playing Bridge, having played for Lancashire since the early 1990s, and is currently the captain of the House of Lords team. Henig is also a keen football fan, supporting Leicester City FC for over 60 years.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henig, Ruth Beatrice 1943 births Living people Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II British historians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Lancaster University Academics of Lancaster University Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire Members of Lancashire County Council Alumni of Bedford College, London Jewish British politicians British women historians Women councillors in England