Rosemary Butler AM made a Dame in Queen's New Year Honours
2 January 2014
The National Assembly for Wales’s Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler AM, has been made a Dame in the New Year’s Honours list for 2014.
She was awarded the honour for Political and Public Services to Women and Democracy.
“I’m thrilled, but also stunned and humbled,” the Presiding Officer said.
“This isn’t just my work and I want to thank all the people I have worked alongside over many years.
“I am passionate about encouraging more women into public life and I’ve worked with some incredible people who share this passion.
“The recognition is as much for those individuals who have worked tirelessly for no extra pay or reward as it is for me.
“This honour is also for my family who have lovingly supported and encouraged me over the years. I could not have done it without them.”
The Presiding Officer has dedicated four decades to public life, including as Newport West’s first Assembly Member since 1999. She has served Wales as Minister for pre-16 Education and Children, Chair of the Assembly’s Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee and Presiding Officer.
Above all, she has worked to encourage more women to get involved in public life. Her work to encourage women into public life has included founding Newport Women’s Forum, which provides a bursary to help empower women and give them confidence to achieve their goals. For the last decade, she has hosted International Women’s day events for 200 plus women, marking the struggles and achievements of women on a global scale.
Since being elected Presiding Officer in 2011she has put the issue of barriers to women firmly at the top of the political agenda through her “Women in Public Life Campaign” #POWiPL.
It’s a campaign that saw the Presiding Officer named Devolved Parliament or Assembly Member of the Year, at the annual Women in Public Life awards in London.
“Rosemary has won the trust, respect and affection of all sections of the community in Wales, and I look back with the greatest pleasure to our days of working together in Newport,” said Dr Rowan Williams, The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Lord Williams of Oystermouth, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and former Archbishop of Canterbury.
“She fully deserves national recognition as the kind of community-rooted and ethically-committed politician we need more of, and it’s good to know both that Wales still nourishes people like this and that the wider British establishment can recognise it. I am delighted with this news.”
Under Mrs Butler’s determined leadership, the National Assembly has become an exemplar in promoting equality and valuing diversity, achieving national recognition on several fronts, including being in the top 10 family-friendly places to work in the UK.
She has championed policies to tackle the barriers that women can face, including dignity at work, domestic abuse, and gender reassignment policies.
“The Presiding Officer richly deserves this honour and I am delighted for her, and for the Assembly,” said the Clerk of the National Assembly, Claire Clancy.
“It is a testament to the dedication and passion she has invested over her long service to public life in Wales and her exceptional efforts to demonstrate the vital part women can play in public life in Wales.
“Her determination to lower barriers to women entering public life is making a real difference.
“I am proud to be working with the Presiding Officer on issues that really will promote diversity and democracy in Wales.”
Rosemary Butler has been the driving force behind a Wales-wide exchange with women to identify the obstacles they face, and launching a series of innovative initiatives including lectures, on-line resources and mentoring, all of which she has shaped and established herself. She has also challenged the leaders of the political parties in Wales to take steps before the next election to maintain the excellent gender-balance achieved in the National Assembly for Wales in the past.
Professor Laura McAllister, Professor of Governance at the University of Liverpool’s School of Management and Chair of Sport Wales said: “I am thrilled and delighted to hear that Rosemary Butler AM, Presiding Officer has been honoured with a Damehood in the 2014 New Years' Honours.
“I can think of no-one more deservingof receiving such an honour. Rosemary has worked tirelessly in her role as a local councillor, AM and more recently as Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales to champion women and equality. Her recent pioneering work on promoting and supporting women in public life has been an inspirationto me and many other women and we are starting to see material improvements in the number of women coming forward to become tomorrow's decision-makers. I offer my warmest congratulations to Rosemary and her family and colleagues."
Her peers, and women who she has influenced, value highly her diligent and dedicated approach. Her achievements command the admiration and respect of influential players in Wales and beyond. Rosemary has made a sustained effort for over four decades and had a lasting impact on the prospects and lives of women, locally, nationally and internationally.