Susan Thomas, Baroness Thomas of Walliswood

Susan Petronella Thomas, Baroness Thomas of Walliswood OBE DL (née Fordham-Arrow ; born December 20, 1935 ) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was a member of the House of Lords from 1994 to 2016 .

Life

Unsuccessful House of Commons candidacies and involvement in the county of Surrey

After attending school, she studied history at Lady Margaret Hall at the University of Oxford and graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA History). After marrying and raising children, she worked for the National Economic Development Council (NEDC) from 1971 to 1974 and then as the executive director of the British Garment Industry Association until 1978, before becoming principal of a school from 1978 to 1985 .

In the general election on June 9, 1983 and June 11, 1987 , she ran unsuccessfully for the Liberal Alliance in the Mole Valley constituency for a seat in the House of Commons .

In 1985 she became a member of the Surrey County Council , of which she was a member until 1997. Between 1993 and 1996 she was its vice-chair and then between 1996 and 1997 its chair. She was also a member of the East Surrey Community Health Council from 1989 to 1992 and then until 1996 Director of the Trust for the East Surrey Hospital and Community Healthcare Trust . She was also Chair of the County's Highway and Transportation Committee from 1993 to 1996, and Surrey County Representative to the Association of County Councils from 1993 to 1997.

House of Lords

In 1994 she was raised to the nobility as a Life Peeress with the title Baroness Thomas of Walliswood , of Dorking in the County of Surrey and has since been a member of the House of Lords .

During her long-standing membership in the House of Lords, she was initially from 1994 to 2001 spokeswoman for the group of the Liberal Democrats for transport and then until 2006 for women's affairs. At the same time she was Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Surrey in January 1996 and was a member of the Surrey Parole Board between 1997 and 2004.

Baroness Thomas, who was temporarily president of her party's Women Liberal Democrats , has been a member of the Liberal International since 1999 .

At the same time, she became Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords in 2002 and held this office until 2007. During this time, she was also the Deputy Chair of Committees . After finishing these activities, Baroness Thomas was again spokeswoman for the Group of the Liberal Democrats for Women and Equality between 2007 and 2009.

On October 21, 2014, Baroness Thomas of Walliswood was granted a Leave of Absence, thus releasing her from her membership in the House of Lords. On May 18, 2016, Thomas of Walliswood resigned from the House of Lords for absence from the House of Lords for a period of more than six months under the provisions of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.

Web links

• Entry on Parliament's homepage (accessed on July 3, 2012)
• Entry in They Work For You (accessed July 3, 2012)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Baroness Thomas of Walliswood at parliament.uk