Fiona Hall | |
---|---|
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament | |
In office 21 July 2009 – 2 July 2014 | |
Leader | Nick Clegg |
Preceded by | Diana Wallis |
Succeeded by | Catherine Bearder |
Member of the European Parliament for North East England | |
In office 10 June 2004 – 2 July 2014 | |
Preceded by | Gordon Adam |
Succeeded by | Paul Brannen |
Personal details | |
Born | Swinton, Lancashire, England | 15 July 1955
Political party | Liberal Democrat |
Children | 2 daughters |
Residence(s) | Whittingham, Northumberland |
Alma mater | St Hugh's College, Oxford |
Fiona Jane Hall MBE ( née Cutts; born 15 July 1955 in Swinton, Lancashire) is a British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North East England. She served as leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament [1] from 2009 to 2014. She was elected to the European Parliament in 2004, and re-elected in 2009, coming in third behind Labour and Conservative candidates with 17% of the vote, the highest of any UK Liberal Democrat candidate. [2] [3] [4]
Hall attended Worsley Wardley Grammar School and Eccles College. She went on to study at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and graduated with a degree in Modern Languages. She worked part-time as a teacher after moving to Northumberland, where she campaigned against nuclear power in the early 1990s. [2]
Hall began working as a political officer for the Liberal Democrats in 1997 and was a parliamentary researcher two years later. Hall was an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe polling station supervisor in Kosovo in 2001 following the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. [2]
Hall led the European Union's observer mission in Togo during the October 2007 Togolese parliamentary election. [5] She has been vice-president of the European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources since 2008, [2] and is a member of the group MEPs Against Cancer. [6]
Hall was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours List for public and political service. [7]