Jennifer Elizabeth Randerson, Baroness Randerson (26 May 1948 – 4 January 2025) was a Welsh

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

member of 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 ...

. She was a junior minister in the Wales Office serving in the

Cameron–Clegg coalition The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the general el ...

. Prior to her peerage she was an Assembly Member for Cardiff Central from 1999 to 2011 when she served in the

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour (), formerly known as the Labour Party in Wales (), is an autonomous section of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK), Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears have won a p ...

- Lib Dem administration of the 2000–2003

Welsh Assembly Government 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 ...

. Randerson was also a Cardiff councillor for

Cyncoed Cyncoed ( ) is a community in the northeast of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. With many properties in the area fetching over £1 million, Cyncoed is considered to have some of the highest property prices in the country. Cyncoed overlooks the city ...

. In 2019 she was appointed Chancellor of Cardiff University.

Early life and education

Randerson was educated at

Bedford College, University of London Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advanceme ...

( BA History), now part of

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

.Royal Holloway College, ''Higher Magazine No.17'', autumn 2012, accessed 24 November 2012 She was a

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

(1983–2000) and was a lecturer at Cardiff Tertiary College. She led the official opposition on the Council in Cardiff for four years. She introduced "Creative Future", a culture strategy for Wales and "Iaith Pawb", a strategy for the promulgation 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 ...

National Assembly for Wales

Randerson was elected as Assembly Member for Cardiff Central at the 1999 Assembly Elections beating the Labour candidate

Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford (born 19 September 1954) is a Welsh politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance since September 2024, having previously held the position from 2016 to 2018. He previously served as First Minister of Wales and L ...

. She served as Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language in the Liberal Democrat/Labour Partnership Government from 2000 to 2003. She was acting Welsh Deputy First Minister from 6 July 2001 to 13 June 2002. She was Health and Social Services; Equal Opportunities and Finance Spokeswoman for the Welsh Liberal Democrats during the Second Assembly. She chaired Assembly Business and Standing Orders Committees during the Second Assembly. Randerson stood for the leadership of the Welsh Liberal Democrats in 2008 but was defeated by

Kirsty Williams Victoria Kirstyn Williams (born 19 March 1971) is a Welsh politician who served as Minister for Education in the Welsh Government from 2016 to 2021. She was a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 1999 to 2021. She previously served as the Leader of ...

who gained 60% to Randerson's 40% of the all member ballot. In the third Assembly, Randerson was the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Education, Transport and the Economy. She did not seek re-election at the 2011 Assembly elections, saying she was "hopeful of a new role combining my love of campaigning with a slightly less hectic lifestyle." Nigel Howells, her Liberal Democrat successor, was narrowly defeated by

Jenny Rathbone Jenny Ann Rathbone (born 12 February 1950) is a Welsh Labour politician who has been a Member of the Senedd (MS) since 2011. Career She was Labour candidate for Cardiff Central at the 2010 General Election, coming second to Liberal Democrat Je ...

House of Lords

On 27 January 2011, Randerson was created 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 ...

as Baroness Randerson, of

Roath Park Roath Park () Cardiff, Wales, is one of Cardiff's most popular parks, owned by Cardiff County Council and managed by the Parks Section. It retains a classic Victorian era, Victorian atmosphere and has many facilities. The park has recently b ...

in the City of Cardiff and was introduced in the

on 31 January 2011, and sat on the Liberal Democrat benches. On 4 September 2012, she was appointed a Parliamentary under-secretary of state at the

Wales Office The Wales Office (), known as the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales () between 2017 and 2024, is a department of His Majesty's Government. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales p ...

. Randerson was the first Welsh Liberal to hold a ministerial post since Gwilym Lloyd-George in 1945 and the first Welsh Liberal Democrat woman to hold ministerial office at Westminster.

Personal life and death

In the early 1970, when a teacher at Spalding High School, Lincolnshire, Randerson lived on Guys Head Road in Lutton Marsh with her 25-year-old husband Peter, who worked for Nature Conservancy. He studied salt marshes and mudflats. He worked at the Coastal Ecology Research Station in Norwich. He played the violin. Her husband was later an ecology lecturer at University of Wales College, Cardiff, in the 1990s, which became

Cardiff University 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 ...

. Randerson died in Cardiff on 4 January 2025, at the age of 76. Following her death, First Minister of Wales,

Eluned Morgan Mair Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely, (born 16 February 1967), is a Welsh politician who has served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour since 2024. Morgan is the first woman, and first member of the House of Lords to ho ...

described Randerson as "committed to public service, to Wales and devolution." Randerson's funeral was held on 10 February 2025 in the

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and was attended by over 400 mourners. Eulogies were delivered by

Ilora Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Ilora Gillian Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, FRCP, FRCGP, FLSW, FMedSci (born 23 February 1949) is a Welsh doctor, professor of palliative medicine, and a crossbench member of the House of Lords. Born the only daughter of Professo ...

and former Deputy Liberal Democrat Leader Sir

Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a British former politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, and a strategic adviser to Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer of trains. Hughes was deputy leader of the Lib ...

References

External links

Jenny Randerson AM
official biography at the Welsh Assembly website
Jenny Randerson AM
profile at the site of Welsh Liberal Democrats *

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randerson, Jennifer Randerson, Baroness 1948 births 2025 deaths Councillors in Cardiff Liberal Democrat members of the Senedd Wales AMs 1999–2003 Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Members of the Welsh Government Alumni of Bedford College, London Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London Female members of the Senedd Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors 20th-century British women politicians Women members of the Welsh Government Women councillors in Wales