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Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby

The Right Honourable
The Baroness Williams of Crosby
CH PC
Shirley Williams -NHS Confederation annual conference, Manchester-11July2011 (1).jpg
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
In office
7 June 2001 – 24 November 2004
Leader Charles Kennedy
Preceded by The Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank
Succeeded by The Lord McNally
President of the Social Democratic Party
In office
7 July 1982 – 29 August 1987
Leader Roy Jenkins
David Owen
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by John Cartwright
Secretary of State for Education and Science
In office
10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979
Prime Minister Jim Callaghan
Preceded by Fred Mulley
Succeeded by Mark Carlisle
Paymaster General
In office
10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979
Prime Minister Jim Callaghan
Preceded by Edmund Dell
Succeeded by Angus Maude
In office
5 March 1974 – 10 September 1976
Prime Minister Harold Wilson
Jim Callaghan
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Roy Hattersley
Shadow Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection
In office
4 May 1973 – 5 March 1974
Leader Harold Wilson
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Sally Oppenheim-Barnes
Shadow Home Secretary
In office
19 October 1971 – 4 May 1973
Leader Harold Wilson
Preceded by Jim Callaghan
Succeeded by Roy Jenkins
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services
In office
19 June 1970 – 19 October 1971
Leader Harold Wilson
Preceded by Dick Crossman
Succeeded by Barbara Castle
Minister of State for Home Affairs
In office
13 October 1969 – 23 June 1970
Prime Minister Harold Wilson
Preceded by Victor Collins
Succeeded by Richard Sharples
Minister of State for Education and Science
In office
29 August 1967 – 13 October 1969
Prime Minister Harold Wilson
Preceded by Goronwy Roberts
Succeeded by Alice Bacon
Member of Parliament
for Crosby
In office
26 November 1981 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by Graham Page
Succeeded by Malcolm Thornton
Member of Parliament
for Hertford and Stevenage
In office
28 February 1974 – 3 May 1979
Preceded by Constituency established
Succeeded by Bowen Wells
Member of Parliament
for Hitchin
In office
15 October 1964 – 28 February 1974
Preceded by Martin Maddan
Succeeded by Ian Stewart
Personal details
Born Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Catlin
(1930-07-27) 27 July 1930 (age 86)
London, England, UK
Political party Labour (Before 1981)
Social Democrats (1981–1988)
Liberal Democrats (1988–present)
Spouse(s) Bernard Williams (1955–1974)
Richard Neustadt (1987–2003)
Alma mater Somerville College, Oxford
Columbia University
Religion Roman Catholicism

Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, CH, PC (née Catlin; born 27 July 1930) is a British politician and academic who represents the Liberal Democrats. Originally a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Minister, she was one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981.

Between 2001 and 2004, she served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and, from 2007 to 2010, as Adviser on Nuclear Proliferation to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. She served as an active member of the House of Lords, until announcing her retirement in January 2016, and is currently Professor Emerita of Electoral Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, among numerous other activities.

Born in Chelsea, London, Williams was the daughter of political scientist and philosopher Sir George Catlin and the feminist and pacifist writer Vera Brittain. She was educated at various schools, including Mrs Spencer's School in Brechin Place, South Kensington; Christchurch Elementary School in Chelsea; Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth; and St Paul's Girls' School in London. During the Second World War, she was evacuated to Minnesota in the United States for three years.


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