Dame Rosemary Janet Mair Butler (''née'' McGrath; born 21 January 1943) is a British politician who served as

Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales The (), or Presiding Officer in English, is the speaker of the Senedd in Wales, elected by members of the Senedd to chair their meetings (plenary sessions); to maintain order; and to protect the rights of Members. The also heads the Corpo ...

(now

Llywydd of the Senedd The (), or Presiding Officer in English, is the speaker of the Senedd in Wales, elected by members of the Senedd to chair their meetings (plenary sessions); to maintain order; and to protect the rights of Members. The also heads the Corpo ...

) from 2011 to 2016. A member of

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour (), formerly known as the Labour Party in Wales (), is an autonomous section of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK), Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears have won a p ...

, Butler was the Assembly Member (AM; now Member of the Senedd) for Newport West from 1999 to 2016. Serving briefly as Secretary for Education in the first two years of the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

, she was elected Deputy Presiding Officer in May 2007. In May 2011, Butler was elected as the Presiding Officer. She did not stand for election to the Assembly in the 2016 elections.

Local politics

In 1971 Butler joined the Labour Party. She was elected to Newport Borough Council from

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

ward in 1973, and played an important part in Labour administrations on the council as Deputy Leader and Mayor of Newport in 1989–90. She was Chair of the Leisure Services Committee for 12 years.

National Assembly

At the first Assembly election in 1999, Butler was selected as Labour candidate for Newport West which she won. She was appointed Secretary for Education: Minister for Children and Young People (up to 16) by

Alun Michael Alun Edward Michael (born 22 August 1943) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative retired politician. He served as Secretary of State for Wales from 1998 to 1999 and then as the first First Secretary of Wales (later known as First Minister) and L ...

but held office only for a year, leaving in October 2000 when the new First Secretary (First Minister),

Rhodri Morgan Hywel Rhodri Morgan (29 September 1939 – 17 May 2017) was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Senedd, Assembly Member for Cardiff West (Senedd constitu ...

, formed a coalition government. She was Chair of the Assembly's Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee and served on the Panel of Chairs. She led the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

activities in '' the Senedd'' (housing the Assembly) and also represents ''the Senedd'' on the European

Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

(CoR) where she is a member of the Bureau (executive) of the Committee.

Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officer

On 9 May 2007, Butler was picked as the Labour group's nominee for Deputy Presiding Officer, a position vacant by the defeat of the previous holder and which had to be held by a member from a different party to the Presiding Officer. Her election by the whole of the Assembly was not opposed. Butler was appointed the second

on 11 May 2011, following

Dafydd Elis-Thomas Dafydd Elis Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas, (; 18 October 1946 – 7 February 2025) was a Welsh politician who served as the leader of Plaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the Senedd from 199 ...

. Butler was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for political and public services, particularly to women.2014 Honours List recipients
accessed 17 March 2014.

Women in Public Life Campaign #POWiPL

In 2012, Rosemary Butler AM launched a campaign to address the need for more women to apply for and take up public roles and appointments. Her Women in Public Life campaign (POWiPL) aims to ensure that women are fairly represented at all levels of public life in Wales. During the campaign, Rosemary has hosted many high-profile influential speakers at ''the Senedd'', most notably former Prime Minister of Australia,

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

to talk about gender equality and encourage women to put themselves forward for public appointments. She also launched a website; Women in Public Life Portal to enable women in Wales to search for public appointments. In October 2014, Rosemary launched a mentoring and development scheme for women who wanted to gain experience in public life and undergo training to help prepare them for decision making roles over a period of 18 months. The scheme is delivered by Chwarae Teg and Cardiff Business School on behalf of ''the Senedd''.

Personal interests

* Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, Newport * Co-founder and Chair of the Newport International Competition for Young Pianists * An Honorary Citizen of Newport's twin town

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

( Republic of Georgia), and founding member of the Newport-Kutaisi Twinning Association * President of the Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge * President of the Wales Home Safety Council * President of Newport Harriers Athletic Club * Honorary Life Member of Newport Sports Council * Life Member of Newport Cricket Club * Founder member of the Friends of

Tredegar House Tredegar House (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Tŷ Tredegar'') is a 17th-century Charles II of England, Charles II-era mansion in Coedkernew, on the southwestern edge of Newport, Wales. For over five hundred years it was home to the Morgan family, late ...

* Ambassador for Girl Guiding * Founder member of Newport Women's Aid * Member of Women's International League of Peace and Freedom * Patron of Caerleon Arts Festival * Chairwoman, Newport Women's Forum * Chairwoman, Live Music Now Wales

Footnotes

References

BBC profile

Personal website

Carwyn Jones reappointed as Wales' first minister

External links

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Rosemary 1943 births People from Much Wenlock Councillors in Wales Wales AMs 1999–2003 Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Politics of Newport, Wales Female members of the Senedd Welsh people of Irish descent Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Living people People from Bargoed Presiding Officers of the Senedd 20th-century British women politicians Women councillors in Wales