Judith Hart
The Baroness Hart of South Lanark | |
---|---|
Chairman of the Labour Party | |
In office 24 November 1981 – 24 November 1982 | |
Leader | Michael Foot |
Preceded by | Alex Kitson |
Succeeded by | Sam McCluskie |
Minister for Overseas Development | |
In office 21 February 1977 – 3 May 1979 | |
Prime Minister | James Callaghan |
Preceded by | Frank Judd |
Succeeded by | Neil Marten |
In office 7 April 1974 – 10 June 1975 | |
Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Richard Wood |
Succeeded by | Reg Prentice |
In office 6 October 1969 – 19 June 1970 | |
Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Reg Prentice |
Succeeded by | Richard Wood |
Shadow Minister for Overseas Development | |
In office 4 May 1979 – 8 December 1980 | |
Leader | James Callaghan |
Preceded by | Richard Luce |
Succeeded by | Frank McElhone |
In office 19 June 1970 – 7 April 1974 | |
Leader | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Bernard Braine |
Succeeded by | Richard Wood |
Paymaster-General | |
In office 1 November 1968 – 6 October 1969 | |
Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | The Lord Shackleton |
Succeeded by | Harold Lever |
Minister of Social Security | |
In office 26 July 1967 – 1 November 1968 | |
Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Margaret Herbison |
Succeeded by | Richard Crossman (as Secretary of State for Social Services) |
Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs | |
In office 6 April 1966 – 26 July 1967 | |
Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Cledwyn Hughes |
Succeeded by | George Thomas |
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | |
In office 20 October 1964 – 6 April 1966 | |
Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Anthony Stodart |
Succeeded by | Bruce Millan |
Member of Parliament for Clydesdale Lanark (1959–1983) | |
In office 8 October 1959 – 11 June 1987 | |
Preceded by | Patrick Francis Maitland |
Succeeded by | Jimmy Hood |
Personal details | |
Born | Constance Mary Ridehalgh 18 September 1924 Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK |
Died | 8 December 1991 London, England, UK | (aged 67)
Political party | Labour |
Spouse | Anthony Bernard Hart (1946-19??) |
Alma mater | London School of Economics University of London |
Occupation | Politician |
Constance Mary Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark, DBE, PC (née Ridehalgh; 18 September 1924 – 8 December 1991), known as Judith Hart, was a British Labour Party politician. She served as a government minister during the 1960s and 1970s before entering the House of Lords in 1988.
Early life and education
She was educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, the London School of Economics and the University of London. She adopted the name Judith aged twelve. She married Anthony Bernard Hart in 1946. She was a lecturer at a teacher training college. She was a member of the Fabian Society and a branch secretary of the Association of Scientific Workers.
Political career
After joining the Labour Party aged 18, Hart was unsuccessful Labour candidate for Bournemouth West in 1951, and Aberdeen South in 1955. She was elected as member for Lanark in 1959, holding the seat until 1983. Thereafter she sat for Clydesdale until 1987.
She held ministerial office as joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland from 1964 to 1966, Minister of State, Commonwealth Office (1966–1967), Minister of Social Security (1967–68), Paymaster-General (with a seat in the Cabinet) from 1968 to 1969, and as Minister of Overseas Development from 1969–70, 1974–75 and 1977-79. In so doing, she became the fifth woman ever to have been included in a government cabinet in the history of Britain.
In opposition, Hart was front bench spokesman on overseas aid from 1979 to 1980. Govt Co-Chairman of the Women's National Commission, 1969-70.[citation needed] Within the Labour Party she was a member of the National Executive Committee (1969–83), serving as Vice-Chairman from 1980–81, and as Chairman from 1981-82.
She was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1967 and appointed a DBE in 1979.[1]
On 8 February 1988, she was created a life peer, as Baroness Hart of South Lanark, of Lanark in the County of Lanark.[2]
Death
She died of cancer at the Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, London, in 1991, aged 67.
Titles and honours
- Miss Judith Ridehalgh (1936–1946)
- Mrs Judith Hart (1946–1959)
- Judith Hart MP (1959–1967)
- The Rt. Hon. Judith Hart MP (1967–1979)
- The Rt. Hon. Dame Judith Hart DBE MP (1979–1988)
- The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Hart of South Lanark DBE PC (1988–1991)
Footnotes
- ^ "No. 47868". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1979. p. 7600.
- ^ "No. 51238". The London Gazette. 11 February 1988. p. 1593.
References
- Sutherland, Duncan (May 2008). "Hart, Judith, Baroness Hart of South Lanark (1924–1991)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49767. Retrieved 6 September 2009. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
External links
- 1924 births
- 1991 deaths
- Deaths from cancer in England
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
- Scottish Labour Party MPs
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
- United Kingdom Paymasters General
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- Female life peers
- Labour Party (UK) life peers
- People from Burnley
- People from Lanark
- UK MPs 1959–64
- UK MPs 1964–66
- UK MPs 1966–70
- UK MPs 1970–74
- UK MPs 1974
- UK MPs 1974–79
- UK MPs 1979–83
- UK MPs 1983–87
- Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom
- People educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
- Chairs of the Labour Party (UK)
- 20th-century women politicians