Elizabeth Deirdre Doocey, Baroness Doocey, (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

O'Keefe; born 2 May 1948) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and businesswoman. A former chair of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

, she was created a life peer in 2010 and is now the inaugural chair of the House of Lords Finance Committee.

Early political and business career

Prior to her election to the London Assembly, she ran a management consulting business, DD Enterprises. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dee Doocey was the Director of Finance at

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

headquarters. She served as a Liberal councillor in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

from 1986 to 1994, and was chair of the council's Housing Committee. She served as

election agent An election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent by those running the election. The term is most used in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some ...

for

Vince Cable Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham (UK Parliament constituency), Twic ...

in her home constituency of

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

from 1992–2015.

London politics

Doocey was a member of the

from 2004–12. She was originally elected as the fifth person on the Liberal Democrat party list, as a London-wide member of the Assembly. She was re-elected for a second term in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

but did not contest the 2012 election. She was chair of the London Assembly from 2010–11, and Deputy Chair from 2011–12. From 2004 to 2010 and again from 2011–12, she was chair of the Assembly's Economic Development, Culture, Sport & Tourism Committee (renamed the Economy, Culture and Sport Committee in May 2011), which was the lead Committee monitoring preparations for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

in London. From 2005–12, Doocey was a member of the

Metropolitan Police Authority The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) (2000–2012) was the local police authority responsible for scrutinising and supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London (excluding the City of London Police ...

, which oversaw the Metropolitan Police. She chaired the MPA's Finance & Resources Committee from 2011 to 2012, and also chaired the MPA's Olympic & Paralympic sub-committee. She represented the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

on the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

Olympic Security Board from 2008–12.

Peerage

Dee Doocey 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 ...

on 21 December 2010, as Baroness Doocey, ''of Hampton in the

'' and sits on the Liberal Democrat benches in 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 ...

.^{/sup> In 2016, the House of Lords appointed her as the inaugural chair of its new Finance Committee. The Committee controls the House of Lords’ internal budgets, commissioning the House's annual financial plan and monitoring expenditure. As Chair of the Committee, Baroness Doocey is a member of the House of Lords Commission, which provides high-level strategic and political direction for the House Administration. The Commission and the Finance Committee arose from recommendations of the Lords Leader's Group on Governance, of which Baroness Doocey was a member.

During the 2010-2015 Parliament, she was the Coalition Government's representative on the Criminal Justice Board. She was also a member of the Joint Committee on the Draft Modern Slavery Bill which comprised members of both the House of Commons and House of Lords, and which took written and oral evidence and made recommendations in a report to both Houses. She was a member of the House of Lords Refreshment Committee 2012 to 2015. In 2012, she was a member of the Draft Enhanced Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Bill (Joint Committee).

Personal life

Born Elizabeth Deirdre O'Keefe in Drumcondra, Dublin

Drumcondra () is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council. The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area.
History
Th ...
, she married Jim Doocey and they have one son.

References

External links

biography at the site of the House of Lords

Dee Doocey biodata at Liberal Democrats' official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doocey, Dee
1948 births
Living people
Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors
Liberal Democrat Members of the London Assembly
Councillors in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers
People from Drumcondra, Dublin
British people of Irish descent
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Women councillors in England
London AMs 2004–2008
London AMs 2008–2012}