Meral Hussein Ece, Baroness Hussein-Ece, ( ; born 10 October 1955) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

member of 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 ...

. She is the first woman of

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

origin to be a member of either house of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

after she was appointed a Liberal Democrat working peer on 28 May 2010. She was the Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman for Equalities from 2015 until 2016, under leader

Tim Farron Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since ...

Early life

Baroness Hussein-Ece was born in Islington. Her

parents, Ayşe Cuma Abdullah (mother) and Hasan Nihat Hüseyin (father), came to the UK from

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in the early 1950s, and settled in Islington, North

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 ...

. Ece and her second cousin

Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...

's paternal great-grandfather, Abdullah, was reportedly a Sudanese slave in the Ottoman Empire.

Career

Ece originally studied art history and fine art at Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design, before going to work in local government and training as a librarian. She subsequently worked for Islington Council's Race Equality Unit, then went to work as a senior manager in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, including as chief officer for Haringey Community Health Council. She was elected as to

Hackney Council Hackney London Borough Council, also known as Hackney Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Hackney, in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority c ...

as a Labour Party councillor for Clissold ward in 1994, and was Deputy Leader in 1995 and 1996. She was the first woman from a Turkish/Cypriot background elected to public office in the UK. Following a split in the Hackney Labour group, in 1997 Ece joined the Liberal Democrats; she was re-elected to Hackney Borough Council in

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...

ward in 1998. She was instrumental in setting up the very first Turkish Women's Group, and establishing a

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

project for Turkish and

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

women in London. In the local government elections of 2002, was elected as Liberal Democrat councillor for Mildmay ward on

Islington Council Islington London Borough Council, also known as Islington Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majo ...

. She was the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care from 2002 to 2006, serving as chair of the Islington Health Partnership board and as a member of Islington Primary Care Trust board. She was also a non-executive director of Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust. After being re-elected in 2006, Ece was chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee from 2007 to 2009. In November 2009, Ece was appointed as a commissioner to the

Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of e ...

(EHRC). In November 2012, Hussein-Ece and Lord Simon Woolley were not reappointed to their roles and later claimed that they had been forced out because they were "too loud and vocal" about issues of race. In May 2008, Ece was appointed by the Minister for Equalities,

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, (born 30 July 1950), is a British politician and solicitor who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the Labour Party (UK), Chair of the Labour Pa ...

MP to serve on the Government's Task Force to increase the numbers of ethnic minority women councillors in the UK. Ece was awarded the OBE in the Queens New Year Honours 2009, for services to local government. She was chair of the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (2007–10) and was a member of the Liberal Democrats Federal Executive Committee 2005–10, and advised

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on community cohesion and minority ethnic communities. It was announced by the UK Cabinet Office on 28 May 2010 that Hussein-Ece was to be appointed to the

. She 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 25 June 2010 taking the title Baroness Hussein-Ece, of

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

in the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming part of Inner London, Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalg ...

. She made her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

at the House of Lords on 15 July 2010 in a debate on criminal justice. In November 2012, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (DLitt) by

Coventry University Coventry University is a Public university, public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lancheste ...

, for her work to promote equality for ethnic minorities in the UK, and contribution to peace in Cyprus. In May 2011 Hussein-Ece apologised after she referred to customers in her local supermarket as "

chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * Julie Burchill descri ...

s". She claimed the word was not derogatory, but writers such as

Polly Toynbee Mary Louisa "Polly" Toynbee (; born 27 December 1946) is a British journalist and writer. She has been a columnist for ''The Guardian'' newspaper since 1998. She is a social democrat and was a candidate for the Social Democratic Party in the 19 ...

criticised her, arguing that the term was "acceptable class abuse by people asserting superiority over those they despise". In 2015 she joined

's Spokesperson team as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Equalities.

Personal life

She has 3 children.

References

External links

Houses of Parliament biography

They Work for You profile - links to all speeches in the Lords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussein-Ece, Meral 1955 births Living people Turkish people of Sudanese descent British people of Turkish Cypriot descent English people of Turkish Cypriot descent English people of Sudanese descent People from Islington (district) Politicians from the London Borough of Islington Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Councillors in the London Borough of Islington Councillors in the London Borough of Hackney Labour Party (UK) councillors Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of London Metropolitan University Women councillors in England