Barbara Janke is a teacher and current Liberal Democrat leader of Bristol City Council in Bristol, England. She has been Councillor for Clifton ward since 1995 and was leader of the Liberal Democrat group between 1997 (taking over from Stephen Williams, who was later elected MP for Bristol West) and 2007 (replaced by Steve Comer), and then again from 2008.
Janke was born in Liverpool and formerly taught economics and modern languages in London. She first became active in politics while in Scotland, before becoming a Councillor and then deputy Leader in Kingston upon Thames Council in the early '90s.
Janke stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Surbiton Constituency at the 1992 General Election, losing to the Conservative Party candidate and incumbent MP, Richard Tracey.
Janke became the first non-Labour leader of Bristol City Council for many decades after the 2003 elections when she led an all-party administration after the Council went into no overall control. This arrangement collapsed in late 2004 when the Labour group withdrew and took minority control as the largest party. At the 2005 elections the Liberal Democrat party became the largest party and took minority control of the Council under Janke as Leader until 2007, when a combined vote of Labour and Conservatives voted them out.
In February 2009, she returned to the position of leader of Bristol City Council, following the resignation of the Labour cabinet.[1]