Judith Hart

The Right Honourable The Baroness Hart of South Lanark DBE PC
Chairman of the Labour Party
In office 24 November 1981 – 24 November 1982
Leader	Michael Foot
Preceded by	Alex Kitson
Succeeded by	Sam McCluskie
Minister for Overseas Development
In office 21 February 1977 – 3 May 1979
Prime Minister	James Callaghan
Preceded by	Frank Judd
Succeeded by	Neil Marten
In office 7 April 1974 – 10 June 1975
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Richard Wood
Succeeded by	Reg Prentice
In office 6 October 1969 – 19 June 1970
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Reg Prentice
Succeeded by	Richard Wood
Shadow Minister for Overseas Development
In office 4 May 1979 – 8 December 1980
Leader	James Callaghan
Preceded by	Richard Luce
Succeeded by	Frank McElhone
In office 19 June 1970 – 7 April 1974
Leader	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Bernard Braine
Succeeded by	Richard Wood
Paymaster-General
In office 1 November 1968 – 6 October 1969
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	The Lord Shackleton
Succeeded by	Harold Lever
Minister of Social Security
In office 26 July 1967 – 1 November 1968
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Margaret Herbison
Succeeded by	Richard Crossman (as Secretary of State for Social Services)
Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs
In office 6 April 1966 – 26 July 1967
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Cledwyn Hughes
Succeeded by	George Thomas
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 20 October 1964 – 6 April 1966
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Anthony Stodart
Succeeded by	Bruce Millan
Member of Parliament for Clydesdale Lanark (1959–1983)
In office 8 October 1959 – 11 June 1987
Preceded by	Patrick Francis Maitland
Succeeded by	Jimmy Hood
Personal details
Born	Constance Mary Ridehalgh 18 September 1924 Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Died	8 December 1991 (aged 67) London, England, UK
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Anthony Bernard Hart (1946-19??)
Alma mater	London School of Economics University of London
Occupation	Politician

Constance Mary Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark, DBE, PC (née Ridehalgh; 18 September 1924 – 8 December 1991), known as Judith Hart, was a British Labour Party politician. She served as a government minister during the 1960s and 1970s before entering the House of Lords in 1988.

Early life and education

She was educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, the London School of Economics and the University of London. She adopted the name Judith aged twelve. She married Anthony Bernard Hart in 1946. She was a lecturer at a teacher training college. She was a member of the Fabian Society and a branch secretary of the Association of Scientific Workers.

Political career

After joining the Labour Party aged 18, Hart was unsuccessful Labour candidate for Bournemouth West in 1951, and Aberdeen South in 1955. She was elected as member for Lanark in 1959, holding the seat until 1983. Thereafter she sat for Clydesdale until 1987.

She held ministerial office as joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland from 1964 to 1966, Minister of State, Commonwealth Office (1966–1967), Minister of Social Security (1967–68), Paymaster-General (with a seat in the Cabinet) from 1968 to 1969, and as Minister of Overseas Development from 1969-70, 1974-75 and 1977-79. In so doing, she became the fifth woman ever to have been included in a government cabinet in the history of Britain.

In opposition, Hart was front bench spokesman on overseas aid from 1979 to 1980. Govt Co-Chairman of the Women's National Commission, 1969-70. Within the Labour Party she was a member of the National Executive Committee (1969–83), serving as Vice-Chairman from 1980-81, and as Chairman from 1981-82.

She was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1967 and appointed a DBE in 1979.^[1]

On 8 February 1988, she was created a life peer, as Baroness Hart of South Lanark, of Lanark in the County of Lanark.^[2]

Death

She died of cancer at the Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, London, in 1991, aged 67.

Titles and honours

• Miss Judith Ridehalgh (1936–1946)
• Mrs Judith Hart (1946–1959)
• Judith Hart MP (1959–1967)
• The Rt. Hon. Judith Hart MP (1967–1979)
• The Rt. Hon. Dame Judith Hart DBE MP (1979–1988)
• The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Hart of South Lanark DBE PC (1988–1991)

Footnotes

1. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47868. p. 7600. 14 June 1979. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
2. The London Gazette: no. 51238. p. 1593. 11 February 1988. Retrieved 6 September 2009.

References

• Sutherland, Duncan (May 2008). "Hart, Judith, Baroness Hart of South Lanark (1924–1991)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49767. Retrieved 6 September 2009. (subscription or UK public library membership required)

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Judith Hart