Glenys Kinnock

Infobox MEP


honorific-prefix =
name = Glenys Kinnock MEP
honorific-suffix = The Baroness Kinnock FRSA
party = Party of European Socialists
constituency_MP = South Wales East
parliament = European
term_start = 1994
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party2 = [Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]
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birth_date = Birth date and age|1944|7|7|df=y
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nationality = British
spouse = Neil Kinnock
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website = http://www.glenyskinnock.org.uk/
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Glenys Elizabeth Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock FRSA (born Glenys Elizabeth Parry, 7 July, 1944) is a Welsh politician who has been a Labour Party Member of the European Parliament since 1994. Before that, she was best known as the wife of Neil Kinnock, Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992. When Neil Kinnock received a life peerage in 2005, Glenys became entitled to the style The Lady Kinnock, which she has chosen not to use.

Early life

She was educated at Holyhead High School, Anglesey and graduated in 1965 from University College, Cardiff in education and history. She met her future husband Neil Kinnock at university and married him in 1967. She has worked as a teacher in secondary, primary, infant and nursery schools, including the Wykeham Primary School, Neasden, London. She is a member of the GMB, the Co-operative Party, and the NUT. She speaks Welsh, albeit reluctantly.

European Parliament

Lady Kinnock represents Wales in the European Parliament where she is a member of the PES political group [cite web |title=The Socialist Group in the European Parliament |url=http://www.socialistgroup.eu/gpes/index.do?lg=en |access=2007-10-14] . She is a Member of the European Parliament's Development and Co-operation Committee [cite web |title=The European Parliament Development and Co-operation Committee |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/deve_home_en.htm] and a substitute member of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs [ cite web |title=The European Parliament committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/libe_home_en.htm] . She is also co-president of the African, Caribbean and Pacific-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and is Labour spokesperson on International Development in the European Parliament. She is President of Steel Action in the European Parliament.

In December 2007, the Observer reported that she would be standing down from the European Parliament at the next election, when she will be 65. [ cite web |title=Pendennis, The Observer |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/7days/story/0,,2231672,00.html]

Attributes

She is a patron, president or board member of a number of charitable organisations, including Saferworld, Drop the Debt, Parliamentarians for Global Action, The Burma Campaign UK, [cite web |title=Glenys Kinnock MEP Patron of BCUK |url= http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/aboutus.html |accessdate = 2007-10-10] International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, World Parliamentarian Magazine, Voluntary Service Overseas and One World Action (formerly The Bernt Carlsson Trust). She founded One World Action on December 21, 1989, exactly one year after UN Commissioner for Namibia, Bernt Carlsson, was killed in the Pan Am Flight 103 crash. Lady Kinnock is also a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association.

In November 2006 Glenys Kinnock was criticized in the press for "taking a junket" to Barbados to discuss world poverty issues [ cite web |title=The Times |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article634439.ece] . She was actually co-presiding over the 12th ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly [cite web |title=The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/intcoop/acp/60_12/default_en.htm] which was invited by the Barbados government to discuss international aid and development.

Academic Distinctions

University College, Cardiff, BA (Education and History) (1965). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, Newport, and the University of Wales, Bangor. She holds honorary Doctorates from Thames Valley University, Brunel University and Kingston University.

Publications

*"Voices for One World", 1987
*"Eritrea - images of war and peace", 1988
*"Namibia - birth of a nation", 1991
*"By Faith and Daring", 1993
*"Zimbabwe on the brink", 2002
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,14658,1689172,00.html?gusrc=rss "The rape of Darfur", 2006, The Guardian]

References

External links

* [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public/geoSearch/view.do?country=GB&partNumber=1&zone=Wales&language=EN&id=2123 Profile at European Parliament website]
* [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sidesSearch/search.do?type=CRE&language=EN&term=6&author=2123 Speeches made in the European Parliament]
* [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/intcoop/acp/50_01/default_en.htm Mrs Kinnock, co-president of the ACP EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly]
* [http://www.glenyskinnock.org.uk/ Glenys Kinnock MEP Home Page]

Offices Held