VIRGINIA BOTTOMLEY

'Virginia Hilda Brunette Maxwell Bottomley, Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone' PC DL, ''née'' 'Virginia Garnett' (born 12 March 1948 in Scotland), is a British Conservative Party politician. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1984 to 2005 and was considered to be a 'One Nation Conservative'. Virginia is a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group.

Contents

Early Life

Member of Parliament and In government

Retirement

Personal Life

Early Life

Virginia was born to W. John Garnett, ex-director of (what was then called) The Industrial Society, and Barbara Rutherford-Smith, teacher and elected member of the Inner London Education Authority. Virginia's father's sister is Peggy Jay, of the Labour dynasty. Virginia graduated at the University of Essex before her Masters at London School of Economics. She was a social scientist, researcher for Child Poverty Action Group, social worker, a magistrate (Justice of the Peace), and a chairman of an Inner London Juvenile Court.

Member of Parliament and In government

She was elected to Parliament in a by-election in 1984, as the Member for South West Surrey, received her first ministerial position in 1988 as junior Environment minister and was appointed Minister of Health in 1989. She become a member of the Privy Council, and joined John Major's cabinet, serving as Secretary of State for Health from 1992 to 1995, and then Secretary of State for National Heritage from 1995 to 1997. After the 1997 general election, she returned to the backbenches also becoming a headhunter in the charity and public sectors, now also leading the Odgers Board practice.

Retirement

She stepped down from the House of Commons when the 2005 general election was called. On June 24 2005 she became a life peer with the title 'Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone', of St Helens in the County of Isle of Wight, the parish where she was baptised and celebrated her marriage.

Personal Life

She is also involved with charitable and academic bodies. She is a Governor of the London School of Economics and the University of the Arts, London. She is also a Council Member of the Ditchley Foundation and President of Farnham Castle Centre for International Briefing. Since 2000 she has sat on the Supervisory Board of Akzo Nobel. She is on the Advisory Council of the International Chamber of Commerce UK and the Judge School of Management, Cambridge. Bottomley has been a trustee and is a fellow of the Industry and Parliament Trust. She is National President of the Abbeyfield Society and a Vice-Patron of Carers and of Cruse Bereavement Care. She is a lay Canon of Guildford Cathedral, and a Freeman of the City of London. In 2006, she was elected and installed as Chancellor of the University of Hull, succeeding Lord Armstrong of Ilminster in April 2006. She was also appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey in March of that year.
Virginia Garnett married Peter Bottomley in 1967, six years after they met; since 1975 he has been an MP. One brother, Christopher Garnett, has been the chief executive of the GNER railway, and Peter Jay, the former British Ambassador to the United States, is a cousin.
In 2007 she was a signatory to a letter supporting fromer BP Chief Executive Lord Browne.