Linda McAvan (born 2 December 1962) 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, ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, who was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for

Yorkshire and the Humber Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York. It is ...

from 1998, when she was first elected in a by-election following the resignation of Norman West. She served until her resignation on 19 April 2019. Before being elected McAvan worked for Barnsley Borough Council and was the European Officer for the Coalfields Community Campaign.

Member of the European Parliament

McAvan was a

since 1998. From 2014 until 2019, she served as chairwoman of the

Committee on Development The Committee on Development (Commission du développement, DEVE) is a committee of the European Parliament responsible for promoting, implementing and monitoring the development and cooperation policy of the European Union, notably talks with deve ...

. In this capacity, she co-chaired (alongside David McAllister) the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG), which oversees the Parliament's election observation missions. In addition to her committee assignments, McAvan is also a member of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. She has been chairing the European Parliament's Fair Trade Working Group and serves on the European Parliament Intergroup on the

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

as well as on the European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights. She is also a supporter of the MEP Heart Group, a group of parliamentarians who have an interest in promoting measures that will help reduce the burden of

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

s (CVD). Between 2002 and 2003, McAvan served as one of 16 representatives of the European Parliament in the

Convention on the Future of Europe The Convention on the Future of the European Union, also known as the European Convention, was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration. Inspired by the Philadelphia Convention that led to ...

, led by former

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

President

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

. In 2002, McAvan was voted UK European Woman of the Year; she received her award from the former

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

Mo Mowlam Dr Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mini ...

, who praised her efforts to engage women in the future of Europe. Later that year, however, she lost out against

Gary Titley Gary Titley (born 19 January 1950) is a British Labour Party politician and a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North West of England. Born in Salford, Titley was educated at the University of York. He worked as a teache ...

in the contest to select a new leader of British Labour MEPs. From 2004 to 2009, McAvan served as treasurer of the European Parliament's

Socialist Group The Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group (french: Groupe Socialiste, SOC) is a primarily social-democratic political grouping in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It was known as the Socialist Group prior to August 2017. The g ...

. In June 2007 she was elected Vice President of the group. Between 2004 and 2014, McAvan served on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. In 2009, she drafted the European Parliament's report on monitoring medicine safety. She also sat on the Temporary Committee on Climate Change between 2007 and 2009; in this capacity, she was part of the Parliament's delegations to the

2008 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2008 United Nations Climate Change Conference took place at PIF Congress Centre, Poznań International Fair (PIF), in Poznań, Poland, between December 1 and December 12, 2008. Representatives from over 180 countries attended along with obse ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

and to the

2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Part ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

. McAvan supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a former Labour Party politician and subsequently a British lobbyist, who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliamen ...

in the

2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 2016 Labour Party leadership election was called when a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party arose following criticism of his approach to the Remain campaign in the referendum on membership of the European Union and q ...

. Labour Party members elected McAvan to be the top-ranked Labour candidat

for

in the 2009 European elections, narrowly beating

Richard Corbett Richard Graham Corbett CBE (born 6 January 1955) is a former British politician who served as the final Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP), from 2017 to 2020. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Merseysi ...

for the top place. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, she again topped the ballot. She stood down as an MEP on 19 April 2019.

Life after politics

Since leaving the European Parliament, McAvan has been working as executive director for European relations at the European Climate Foundation.

Other activities

National Coal Mining Museum for England The National Coal Mining Museum for England is based at the site of Caphouse Colliery in Overton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1988 as the Yorkshire Mining Museum and was granted national status in 1995. History Caphouse C ...

, Member of the Steering Committee * Reconsidering European Contributions to Global Justice (GLOBUS), Member of the Policy Advisory Board

Recognition

McAvan was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(OBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for charitable and political services.

Personal life

McAvan is married to

Paul Blomfield Paul Christopher Blomfield (born 25 August 1953) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Central since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union f ...

, the Labour MP for Sheffield Central.Paul Blomfield: About Paul
Her constituency office was in

Wath-upon-Dearne Wath upon Dearne (shortened to Wath or often hyphenated) is a town south of the River Dearne in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, north of Rotherham and almost midway between Barnsley and Doncaster. It had a po ...

References

*Yorkshire & Humber Labour European election 2009 candidates websit
www.labour4yorkshire.eu

External links

Official websiteProfile at European Parliament websiteYorkshire and Humber Labour European election candidates website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAvan, Linda 1962 births Living people Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Labour Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1994–1999 MEPs for England 1999–2004 MEPs for England 2004–2009 MEPs for England 2009–2014 MEPs for England 2014–2019 20th-century women MEPs for England 21st-century women MEPs for England Officers of the Order of the British Empire