Tessa Ann Vosper Blackstone, Baroness Blackstone, (born 27 September 1942) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

politician and university administrator.

Early life

Her father, Geoffrey Vaughan Blackstone,

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 ...

, GM, was the

Chief Fire Officer Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer, is the highest rank in the fire and rescue services of the United Kingdom. There are currently 50 chief fire officers serving in the United Kingdom in charge of the local authority fire ...

for Hertfordshire and her mother, Joanna Vosper, was an actress and model for the

House of Worth The House of Worth was a French fashion house that specialized in haute couture, ready-to-wear clothes, and perfumes. It was founded in 1858 by English designer Charles Frederick Worth. It continued to operate under his descendants until 1952 and c ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. She was educated at

Ware Grammar School for Girls Ware may refer to: People * Ware (surname) * William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian Places Canada *Fort Ware, British Columbia United Kingdom *Ware, Devon *Ware, Hertfordshire *Ware, Kent United States * Ware, Elmore County, Al ...

and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

, where she gained a doctorate. Her doctoral thesis titled "The provision of pre-school education: A study of the influences on the development of nursery education in Britain from 1900–1965", and was submitted in 1969.

Career

Her academic career began at the former Enfield College (now Middlesex University) before she went on to become a lecturer at the LSE and Professor of Educational Administration at the University of London

Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to ...

. Blackstone was Deputy Education Officer of the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corp ...

(1983–1986). She has also worked as a policy adviser in the Cabinet Office. As a member of

Jim Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk f ...

thinktank, she upset the Foreign Office by criticizing diplomats' lavish lifestyles. She headed Birkbeck College,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, for a decade as

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(from 1987 to 1997) until her appointment to the new Labour government in 1997. She has also held research fellowships at the Centre for Studies in Public Policy and the Policy Studies Institute. In 2004, Blackstone became

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the

University of Greenwich , mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve" , former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992) , established = , type = Public university , budget = £214.9 million (2020) , administrative_staff = , chancel ...

, holding this position up to 2011. She has served as chairman of the ballet board of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

, the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...

, and the

Institute for Public Policy Research The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is a progressive think tank based in London. It was founded in 1988 and is an independent registered charity. IPPR has offices in Newcastle upon Tyne, Manchester, and Edinburgh. Funding comes from ...

(IPPR), and has sat on the governing bodies of numerous other organisations. She has been on the Board of Trustees of The Architecture Foundation. She is currently Chairman of the British Library and Chairman of Great Ormond Street hospital. She is currently the patron of Hamlin Fistula UK, a charity whose aim is to raise funds and awareness to support the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.

Politics

She is a Labour life peer and sits in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, having been created Baroness Blackstone, ''of Stoke Newington in Greater London'', on 18 March 1987. Originally on the Opposition front bench in House of Lords, Blackstone held a succession of portfolios during her time at Birkbeck. Self-described as 'vintage' rather than old or

new Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...

, Blackstone was Minister for Education at the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

from 1997 to 2001 then Minister for the Arts at the

Department of Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

2001–2003. While in her position here she attended The European Higher Education Area Ministerial Conferences and was a member of the European Ministers of Education that signed The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999. On 15 September 2010, Blackstone, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', stating their opposition to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

's state visit to the UK.

Current activities

She is a Patron of Humanists UK and chairs the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

(RIBA) trust. She is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society. In 2009, she became the Chair at

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...

, and later in 2010, she became Chair at

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

, a 4-year term. In September 2012, she joined the board of the

Orbit Group Orbit Group is a group of housing associations providing affordable housing to around 40,000 households in England, mainly in the Midlands, East Anglia and the south east, operating out of 7 offices with the head office in Coventry. History Orbi ...

housing association as its future Chair. In January 2013, she became co-Chair at the Franco-British Council together with

Christian de Boissieu Christian de Boissieu (born 18 March 1947) is a French professor of economics at Pantheon-Sorbonne University, Paris. Biography Christian de Boissieu received a Ph.D. in economics in 1973 at the University of Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne. He wa ...

, an organisation which looks to promote better understanding between Britain and France and to contribute to the development of joint action. She is the Chair to the British Section of the Council. She became the Chair of the

Bar Standards Board The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers in England and Wales for the public interest. It is responsible for: * Setting standards of conduct for barristers and authorising barristers to practise; * Monitoring the service provided by barrist ...

in January 2018.

Publications

Her publications, which mainly cover education and social policy issues, include: * ''Disadvantage and Education'' with Jo Mortimore (Heinemann, 1982) * ''Race Relations in Britain'' with

Bhikhu Parekh Bhikhu Chotalal Parekh, Baron Parekh, (born 4 January 1935) is a British political theorist, academic, and life peer. He is a Labour Party member of the House of Lords. He was Professor of Political Theory at the University of Hull from 1982 ...

and Peter Saunders (Routledge, 1997) *

References

External links

Vice-Chancellor – Baroness Blackstone at University of Greenwich
*Donald MacLeod, ''

'', 12 July 2005
"Tessa Blackstone: Naval gazing"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackstone, Tessa Baroness Blackstone Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of Middlesex University British humanists Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Blackstone, Tessa Blackstone, Baroness Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Academics of the UCL Institute of Education Masters of Birkbeck, University of London People associated with the University of Greenwich 1942 births Living people Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics Chairs of the Fabian Society Place of birth missing (living people)