Williams, Shirley (1930–)
Williams, Shirley (1930–)
British politician. Name variations: Shirley Vivien Teresa Brittain Williams; Baroness Shirley Williams. Born Shirley Vivien Teresa Brittain, July 27, 1930, in Chelsea, England; dau. of Sir George Catlin (professor of political science) and Vera Brittain (1893–1970, the writer); educated at Somerville College, Oxford; attended Columbia University; m. Bernard Williams (philosopher), 1955 (annulled 1974); m. Richard Neustadt (professor of politics at Harvard), 1987; children: (1st m.) Rebecca Clair Williams.
Began career as a journalist for Daily Mirror and Financial Times (1954–59); ran for election to Parliament in Harwich (1954–55); served as general secretary of Fabian Society (1960–64); served as member of Parliament for Hitchin (1964–74), and Hertford-Stevenage (1974–79); served in numerous government posts in Ministry of Health (1964–66), Ministry of Labor (1966–67), Ministry of Education and Science (1967–69), and Home Office (1969–70); appointed minister of Prices and Consumer Protection (1974–76), and minister for Education and Science and paymaster-general (1976–79); was a member of Labour Party National Executive (1970–81); appointed Professorial Fellow of London Policy Study Institute (1979); co-founded the Social Democratic Party (1981), and served as president (1982–88); as a Social Democrat, served as a member of Parliament for Crosby (1981–84); published Politics Is for People (1981).
See also Women in World History.