Glenys Elizabeth Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, (; 7 July 1944 – 3 December 2023), was a British politician and teacher who served as

Minister of State for Europe The minister of state for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, is a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of affairs with Europe. The minister can also be responsible for government policy towards ...

from June to October 2009 and

Minister of State for Africa and the United Nations The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa is a junior position in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the British government. The office was previously merged with the Minister of State for Development. The incumbent is ...

from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she was previously a

member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, formerly South Wales East, from

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Early life

Glenys Elizabeth Parry was born in

Roade Roade is a village in Northamptonshire, England. Currently in West Northamptonshire, before local government changes in 2021 it was represented by South Northamptonshire District Council, falling within the two-member Blisworth and Roade ward ...

, Northamptonshire, and educated at Holyhead Comprehensive School,

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

. She graduated in 1965 from

University College, Cardiff Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

in education and history. Parry worked at Moorland Primary School, in

Splott Splott () is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Splott Farms. S ...

, in 1966. She met

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...

at university and married him in 1967.

European Parliament

Kinnock represented Wales in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

from 1994 until 2009, where she was a member of the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a Social democracy, social democratic European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all the European Economic Area, European economic area states (EEA) plus the Unit ...

(PES) political group. She was a Member of the European Parliament's Development and Co-operation Committee and a substitute member of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs. She was a co-president of the African, Caribbean and Pacific-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly from 2002 to 2009, and Labour spokesperson on International Development in the European Parliament. In November 2006 Kinnock was criticised for "taking a junket" to

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

to discuss world poverty issues. Kinnock co-presided over the 12th ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

Domestic political career

In the 2009 cabinet reshuffle, Kinnock was appointed

minister for Europe The minister of state for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, is a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of affairs with Europe. The minister can also be responsible for government policy towards ...

following the resignation of

Caroline Flint Caroline Louise Flint (born 20 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from 1997 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the Cabinet as Minister for Housing and Planning in ...

. To enable her to join the government, she was awarded 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

age and became Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, ''of

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

in the County of Ynys Môn'' on 30 June 2009. She was introduced to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

on the same day. In 2009, while she was minister for Europe, the status of the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

was elevated to make it equal with several other European

minority language A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...

s, such as Catalan. The cost of translation services was to be met by the Welsh Assembly and the Welsh Language Board. Kinnock commented "This demonstrates a clear commitment by the EU to promote its unique and diverse cultural heritage". From 2009 to 2010, Kinnock served as

minister of state for Africa and the United Nations The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa is a junior position in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the British government. The office was previously merged with the Minister of State for Development. The incumbent is ...

, filling a post left vacant after the resignation of

Lord Malloch-Brown George Mark Malloch Brown, Baron Malloch-Brown (born 16 September 1953) is a British diplomat, communications consultant, journalist and former politician serving as president of Open Society Foundations since 2021, having previously served as ...

. From 2010 to 2013 she was an

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

spokesperson for the Department of International Development in the

. Kinnock retired from the Lords on 9 April 2021.

Personal life

She was the wife of Neil Kinnock, who was leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, and they had two children together, including

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

. When her husband was given a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 2005, she was entitled to the title ''Lady Kinnock'', but decided against its use. However, she became Lady (or Baroness) Kinnock in her own right when she was ennobled in 2009. Kinnock grew up speaking

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

. In 2017, Kinnock was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Her husband spoke about their experience with the disease and providing support for her. She died from complications of the disease at her home in London, on 3 December 2023, aged 79.

Publications

* ''Beyond Band Aid: Charity Is Not Enough'' (1987; with

Joan Lestor Joan Lestor, Baroness Lestor of Eccles (13 November 1927 – 27 March 1998) was a British Labour politician. She was MP for Eton and Slough between 1966 and 1983, and MP for Eccles from 1987 to 1997. Early life Lestor was born in Vancouver, Br ...

and David Ward) * ''Voices for One World'' (1987) * ''Eritrea: Images of War and Peace'' (1988) * ''Namibia: Women in War'' (1990; with Tessa Cleaver and Marion Wallace) * ''Namibia: Birth of a Nation'' (1991; with Jenny Matthews) * ''By Faith and Daring'' (1993; with

Fiona Millar Fiona Millar (born 2 January 1958) is a British journalist and campaigner on education and parenting issues. She is a former adviser to Cherie Blair. Millar contributes to ''The Guardian'' and the Local Schools Network website. Early life As ...

) * ''The Gender Perspective'' (1995) * ''Changing States: A Labour Agenda for Europe'' (1996; with

Glyn Ford Glyn Ford (born 28 January 1950) is a British academic and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984 to 2009, initially for Greater Manchester East until 1999, then South West England from 1999 to 2009 ...

and

Arlene McCarthy Arlene McCarthy OBE (born 10 October 1960, Belfast, Northern Ireland) was a Member of the European Parliament for the Peak District (European Parliament constituency) from 1994 to 1999 and for North West England from 1999 to 2014, in both case ...

) * ''A Woman's Work Is Never Done'' (2006; with

Elizabeth Andrews Elizabeth Andrews OBE JP (née Smith; 15 December 1882 – 22 January 1960) was a Welsh politician and suffragist who was the first woman organiser of the Labour Party in Wales. Early life Andrews was born on 15 December 1882 at 13 John S ...

and

Ursula Masson Ursula Masson (1945–2008), born Ursula O'Connor, was a Welsh academic and writer who worked closely with Jane Aaron (educator), Jane Aaron and Honno Press/Gwasg Honno, the Welsh Women's Press, on the imprint Welsh Women's Classics – to brin ...

)

Articles

* "The Rape of Darfur", 2006 (''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'') * "A Lethal Bully That Must Be Tackled", 2006 (''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'') * "Cambodia's Brazen U.N. Bird", 2012 (''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'')

References

External links

Profile at European Parliament website

Speeches made in the European Parliament

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnock, Glenys 1944 births 2023 deaths 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century British women writers 20th-century women MEPs for Wales 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century British women writers 21st-century women MEPs for Wales Alumni of Cardiff University British critics of religions Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England Deaths from dementia in England

Glenys Glenys, a Welsh female given name meaning "clean, holy", may refer to: * Glenys Bakker (born 1962), Canadian curler from Calgary, Alberta *Glenys Barton, sculptor working mainly in ceramic and bronze * Glenys Beasley (born 1944), Australian sprinte ...

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II MEPs for Wales 1994–1999 MEPs for Wales 1999–2004 MEPs for Wales 2004–2009 Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 People educated at Holyhead High School People from Holyhead Schoolteachers from Northamptonshire Spouses of life peers Welsh Labour MEPs Welsh humanists Welsh socialists Welsh-speaking politicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts