Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold (née Jones; 11 August 1932 – 19 June 2010) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician who served as the Member of Parliament from a 1982 by-election until the 1997 general election.

Education

She was educated at the

Perse School for Girls The Stephen Perse Foundation is a family of private schools in Cambridge and Saffron Walden for students aged 1 to 18. The Foundation is made up of: - 3 nurseries (2 in Cambridge and 1 in Saffron Walden, Essex) for ages 1–5. - 2 Junior S ...

, Cambridge,

Notting Hill and Ealing High School Notting Hill and Ealing High School is a private day school for girls aged 4–18 in Ealing, London. Founded in 1873, it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust. It has a junior department of 310 girls (ages 4–11) an ...

and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. She qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

after earning her

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

, but never practised. She travelled across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with her father, a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

who was Pro-Rector of the

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

until his death.

Marriage and early career

She married John Marix Rumbold, a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

, in 1958, by whom she had two sons and a daughter and, , seven grandchildren. She returned to a working life after raising her children and worked as the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

for a

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

, The National Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital. Following that post, as she had become a local

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

, she worked at the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

as a researcher, transferring across to work on the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

desk at

Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

. She served on many national committees including the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body and was Chairman of the Teachers' Negotiating Committee until it was closed down by Act of Parliament.

Politician

Rumbold served as a councillor in the

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a London boroughs, borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden, Surbiton and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four List ...

between 1974 and 1983. In 1982, Bruce Douglas-Mann, the MP for Mitcham and Morden, left the Labour Party to join the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SDP). He decided to resign as an MP and seek re-election under the SDP banner. The resulting by-election was held during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

and was won by Rumbold. She held the seat for the Conservatives in the landslide 1983 general election and for a further 14 years, usually with robust majorities. Rumbold was known for her pro-nuclear views: she was a co-founder of Women For the Bomb and vice-chairwoman of the

Women and Families for Defence Women and Families for Defence was a Conservative-aligned pressure group originally founded in March 1983 as Women for Defence. It was founded in opposition to the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and ai ...

. Angela Rumbold served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

Under Secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

at the

Department of Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for Education and Minister of State at 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 ...

. In 1992 she became the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. At the 1997 general election she lost her seat to Labour's

Siobhain McDonagh Dame Siobhain Ann McDonagh (born 20 February 1960) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mitcham and Morden since 1997. She served as an Assistant Whip in the Labour Government, but was dismisse ...

on a swing of 11.6%, similar to the national average.

School governor

After leaving the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1997 she returned to many of her voluntary activities. She was Chair of the

Governing Body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

of both Danes Hill School in

Oxshott Oxshott is a suburban village in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. Oxshott includes hilly acidic heath which is partly wooded (see Esher Commons and Prince's Coverts) and occupies the land between the large towns of Esher and Leatherh ...

and Surbiton High School in the

, as well as Vice Chair of the Governing Body of Tolworth Girls' School, a large

secondary modern school A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...

also in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. She was Chair of Governors of

Wimbledon High School Wimbledon High School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls' day school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, South West (London sub region), South West London. It is a Girls' Day School Trust school and is a member of the Girls' ...

and a Governor of More House Girls' School in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

. She was Chair of the Court of Governors of

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

for nine years and set up its Pre-prep School Grimsdells. She also chaired the Minerva Fund for replacement of bursaries in Girls' Day School Trust schools after the closure of the

Assisted Places Scheme The Assisted Places Scheme was established in the UK by the Conservative government in 1980. Children who were eligible were provided with free or subsidised places to fee-charging independent schools - based on the child's results in the schoo ...

. She was co-chair of the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools, and Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...

. She was a member of the Trust and Governing Council of the

United Church Schools Trust The United Church Schools Trust (UCST) is a large education charity in the United Kingdom which owns and operates a group of 14 private schools. The charity is operating under the name United Learning as of 2012. History UCST was founded in 1883 ...

, and Chair of the

United Learning Trust United Learning is a group of state-funded schools and fee-paying private schools operating in England. United Learning is the trading name for United Church Schools Trust (UCST) and United Learning Trust (ULT). It is one of the largest 10 char ...

References

RUMBOLD, Rt Hon. Dame Angela (Claire Rosemary)
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 * *"Times Guide to the House of Commons", Times Newspapers Limited, 1983 and 1997 editions

Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rumbold, Angela 1932 births 2010 deaths Alumni of King's College London British educational theorists Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School People educated at the Perse School for Girls UK MPs 1979–1983 School governors UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 English barristers 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English women Women councillors in England