Gloria Dorothy Hooper, Baroness Hooper, (born 25 May 1939) is a British lawyer and a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

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 ...

in 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 ...

. The daughter of Frederick and Frances (née Maloney) Hooper, she was educated at La Sainte Union Convent High School, Southampton, and at the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

. She attended the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, where she received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in law in 1960 and at

Universidad Central del Ecuador The Central University of Ecuador () is a national university located in Quito, Ecuador. It is the oldest and largest university in the country, and one of the oldest universities in the Americas. The enrollment at the university is over 10,000 ...

, where she was a

Rotary Foundation The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely ...

Fellow. Baroness Hooper opened The British School of Quito in September 1995.

Legal background

Hooper was assistant to the chief registrar of

John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, financial services and a build to rent operation. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf o ...

between 1960 and 1961 and editor in current law of Sweet & Maxwell, Law Publishers between 1961 and 1962. From 1962 to 1967, she was information officer, to the Winchester City Council and from 1967 to 1972, assistant solicitor with Taylor and Humbert. In 1972–73, Hooper was legal adviser to Slater Walker France S.A. Between 1974 and 1984, she was partner with Taylor and Humbert (now Taylor, Wessing).

Political career

An active member of the Conservative Party, Hooper was the party's candidate for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the

1979 European Parliament election The 1979 European Parliament election was a series of parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the Eur ...

. Although the seat was thought to be safe Labour, Hooper won it by 7,227 over Labour's Terry Harrison, a member of the

Militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

group. Comparing the election with the total votes cast in the 1979 general election five weeks previously, the swing to the Conservatives was 11% in Liverpool, as against 5% nationally. Hooper was defeated in the 1984 election in the Merseyside West constituency.

Affiliations

* Anguilla All Party Parliamentary Group, co-chair *

Law Society of England and Wales The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

, member * Member of the advisory board, Polar Research and Policy Initiative * President of the British Educational Suppliers Association * Vice-president of Canning House (Hispanic and Luso Brazilian Council) * President of Waste Watch * President of the European Foundation For Heritage Skills *

Institute for the Study of the Americas The Institute for the Study of the Americas (ISA) was established in 2004 following a merger of the Institute of Latin American Studies and the Institute of United States Studies. ISA formed part of the University of London’s School of Advanc ...

(

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

), councilmember * President of Good Guy's Cancer Appeal * President of the Anglo Latin-American Foundation * President of the Friends of Colombia for Social Aid * President of the Central America Business Council (CABC)

Trusteeships and Fellowships

* Trustee,

Royal Academy of Dance The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is a UK-based examination board specialising in dance education and training, with an emphasis on classical ballet. The RAD was founded in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Teachers of Operatic Danci ...

* Trustee, Centre for Global Energy Studies * Trustee, National Museums and Galleries of Merseyside Development Trust * Trustee/Fellow,

Industry and Parliament Trust The Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) is a charity that works to promote the mutual understanding of Parliament and business. It works within the Parliament of the United Kingdom and organisations from all sectors of industry. It is non-partisan, ...

(and fellow) * Trustee, ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic Church, Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by ...

'' * Fellow,

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

* Fellow,

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

Peerage

She was invested as a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG) in the 2002

New Year's Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

and on 10 June 1985, she was created a

with the title Baroness Hooper, of Liverpool and St James's in the City of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. She was created a Dame of the

Order of St Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See. The honor is b ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Gloria Hooper, Baroness 1939 births Living people People educated at the Royal Ballet School Alumni of the University of Southampton Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Conservative Party (UK) MEPs Conservative Party (UK) life peers Dames of St. Gregory the Great English Roman Catholics Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II People associated with the University of London 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics MEPs for England 1979–1984 20th-century women MEPs for England