Rosemary Butler (politician)

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Dame Rosemary Butler DBE AM

Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 May 2011
Deputy	David Melding
Preceded by	Dafydd Elis-Thomas
Deputy Presiding Officer
In office 9 May 2007 – 11 May 2011
Preceded by	John Marek
Succeeded by	David Melding
Minister for Education
In office 25 May 1999 – 18 October 2000
First Secretary	Alun Michael
Preceded by	New post
Succeeded by	Jane Davidson
Member of the Welsh Assembly for Newport West
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 1999
Preceded by	New Assembly
Majority	4,220 (18.3%)
Personal details
Born	(1943-01-21) 21 January 1943 Much Wenlock, Shropshire
Political party	Welsh Labour Party
Spouse(s)	Derek Butler

Dame Rosemary Janet Mair Butler DBE (born 21 January 1943) is a British politician and Labour Member of the National Assembly for Wales for Newport West since 1999. Serving briefly as Assembly Secretary for Education in the first two years of the Assembly, she was elected Deputy Presiding Officer of the Assembly in May 2007. She is currently Presiding Officer of the Assembly, following her election in May 2011.

Family

Rosemary Butler was born in Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Her family moved to Bargoed in the Rhymney Valley soon after. As a teenager she moved to Newport with her parents (Godfrey and Gwen McGrath) and brother John; there she attended St Julian's High School. In the early 1960s she met her husband Derek Butler, whom she married in 1966. He was a lecturer in art and design at Newport Art college, which was at the time based in Clarence Place. They have two daughters, Kate (born 1968) and Alice (born 1970).

Local politics

In 1971 Butler joined the Labour Party. She was elected to Newport Borough Council from Caerleon 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 Assembly Secretary for Education: Minister for Children and Young People (up to 16) by Alun Michael but held office only for a year, leaving in October 2000 when the new First Minister Rhodri Morgan 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 activities in the Assembly and also represents the Assembly on the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) where she is a member of the Bureau (executive) of the Committee.

Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officer

Rosemary Butler at the Senedd

on 9 May 2007 Butler was picked as the Labour group's nominee for Deputy Presiding Officer of the Assembly, 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 Presiding Officer of the Assembly on 11 May 2011, following Dafydd Elis-Thomas, PC, AM.

Butler was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for political and public services, particularly to women.^[1]

Personal interests

Among her many interests, Butler is:

• An 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 in the 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 • 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 of Newport Women's Forum

Footnotes

↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60728. p. 7. 31 December 2013.

References

External links

Media related to Rosemary Butler at Wikimedia Commons

Offices held

National Assembly for Wales
Preceded by (new post)	Assembly Member for Newport West 1999–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Dafydd Elis-Thomas	Presiding Officer 2011–present	Incumbent
Preceded by John Marek	Deputy Presiding Officer 2007 – 2011	Succeeded by David Melding
Political offices
Preceded by (new post)	Minister for Education 1999 – 2000	Succeeded by Jane Davidson
Preceded by TBC	Member of the EU Committee of the Regions 2002 – 2007	Succeeded by Christine Chapman

Persondata
Name	Butler, Rosemary
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	21 January 1943
Place of birth	Much Wenlock, Shropshire
Date of death
Place of death

v t e Current members of the National Assembly of Wales

As of the 4th Assembly

Labour (30)	Leighton Andrews Mick Antoniw (Rosemary Butler) Christine Chapman Jeffrey Cuthbert Alun Davies Keith Davies Mark Drakeford Carwyn Jones † Rebecca Evans Vaughan Gething Janice Gregory John Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Edwina Hart Mike Hedges Jane Hutt Julie James Ann Jones Huw Lewis Sandy Mewies Julie Morgan Lynne Neagle Gwyn R Price Jenny Rathbone David Rees Carl Sargeant Ken Skates Gwenda Thomas Joyce Watson

Conservatives (14)	Mohammad Asghar Angela Burns Byron Davies Andrew R. T. Davies † Paul Davies Suzy Davies Janet Finch-Saunders Russell George William Graham Mark Isherwood David Melding Darren Millar Nick Ramsay Antoinette Sandbach

Plaid Cymru (11)	Jocelyn Davies Dafydd Elis-Thomas Llyr Huws Gruffydd Bethan Jenkins Alun Ffred Jones Elin Jones Rhodri Glyn Thomas Leanne Wood† Rhun ap Iorwerth Simon Thomas Lindsay Whittle

Liberal Democrats (5)	Peter Black Eluned Parrott William Powell Aled Roberts Kirsty Williams †

Presiding Officer: Rosemary Butler † = Party leaders

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