The Rt Hon Lord (Neil) Kinnock of Bedwellty The Chair

Neil Kinnock was born in Tredegar in 1942. His father was a steel worker and former collier, his mother a nurse. He graduated from University College Cardiff and became a tutor organiser for the Worker’s Education Association in South Wales. He was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Bedwellty (later Islywn) in 1970. He was elected to the Labour Party National Executive in1978 and appointed Chief Education Spokesman of the Labour Party in 1979. In 1983 he was elected Labour Party Leader and leader of HM Opposition. During his time at the head of the Labour Party he extensively modernised and reformed the organisation, constitution and policies of the party. He stepped down from the Party leadership in 1992 and three years later was appointed to the European Commission. He was European Commissioner for Transport from 1995 to 1999 and, from 1999 to 2004, Vice-President of the Commission. He was made a member of the House of Lords in 2005 as Lord Kinnock of Bedwellty. He has been President of Cardiff University since 1998 and Chair of the British Council, the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural and educational relations, since December 2004.

Lord Kinnock is a Patron of Femmes d’Europe, Patron, National Museums of Wales Trustee, Institute for Public Policy Research, President, Sportsaid Wales, Hon President, Labour Finance & Industry Group and Non-executive Director, DRS Data & Research Services.