Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine

Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine (born 9 March 1955) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and Life Peer. She is Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Communities and Local Government in the House of Lords.

Prior to her enoblement as a life peer with the title Baroness Falkner of Margravine, of Barons Court in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in 2004, Falkner worked in a variety of jobs for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons and the party headquarters including as Director of International Affairs and Director of Policy. She has also worked at the Commonwealth Secretariat and as Chief Executive of Student Partnerships Worldwide. In February 2008 she was appointed as the inaugural chancellor of The University of Northampton.

Life

Kishwer Falkner was born in Pakistan and after living and working in the Middle East, moved to the UK in the late seventies. Falkner was educated at St Joseph's Convent School in Karachi, Pakistan, the London School of Economics where she obtained a BSc (Econ) in International Relations and the University of Kent where she obtained an MA in International Relations and European Studies.

Political career

She joined the Liberal Democrats in the mid-eighties and worked for the party in several posts till 1999. She stood as prospective parliamentary candidate in Kensington and Chelsea in 2001, gaining the highest ethnic minority vote for Liberal Democrats in London. She has lived in West London. As a European Candidate hopes to highlight the diversity of London as a force for growth and prosperity, and to promote its cosmopolitanism.

Kishwer was the Liberal Democrats’ Director of International and European Affairs for several years, co-authoring much of the Party’s policy on the European Union, and coordinating a joint response for European Liberals on issues related to Europe’s structures and place in the world. Kishwer also worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat, where she continued to work on the broader issues of globalisation, democracy and development. Most recently, Kishwer was Chief Executive of a charity working with young people in some of the poorest parts of Africa and Asia.

Falkner contested Kensington and Chelsea in the 2001 General Election and was on the Liberal Democrats list for London in the 2004 European elections.

Personal life

Kishwer is married to Robert Falkner, an academic teacher at the London School of Economics, and they live in West London with their seven year old daughter Sophia.

References

[http://www.ethnic-minority.libdems.org/General%20election%202005/taskforce%20biogs/baroness_kishwer_faulkner.htm Profile of Baroness Kishwer]