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The Baroness Blackstone | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Minister of State for the Arts | |
| In office 8 June 2001 – 13 June 2003 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Alan Howarth |
| Succeeded by | Estelle Morris |
| Minister of State for Education and Employment | |
| In office 2 May 1997 – 8 June 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | The Lord Henley |
| Succeeded by | office abolished |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 18 March 1987 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Tessa Ann Vosper Blackstone (1942-09-27)27 September 1942 (age 83) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Tom Evans |
| Children | Ben Evans |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
Tessa Ann Vosper Blackstone, Baroness BlackstonePC (born 27 September 1942) is anEnglish politician and university administrator.[1][2]
Her father, Geoffrey Vaughan BlackstoneCBEGM, was theChief Fire Officer forHertfordshire and her mother, Joanna Vosper, was an actress and model for theHouse of Worth inParis. She was educated atWare Grammar School for Girls and theLondon School of Economics, where she gained a doctorate. Her doctoral thesis, titled "The provision of pre-school education: A study of the influences on the development of nursery education in Britain from 1900–1965", was submitted in 1969.[3]
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Her academic career began at the former Enfield College (nowMiddlesex University) before she went on to become a lecturer at the LSE and Professor of Educational Administration at the University of LondonInstitute of Education.
Blackstone was Deputy Education Officer of theInner London Education Authority (1983–1986). She has also worked as a policy adviser in theCabinet Office. As a member ofJim Callaghan'sDowning Streetthinktank, she upset the Foreign Office by criticizing diplomats' lavish lifestyles.
She headedBirkbeck College,University of London, for a decade asMaster (from 1987 to 1997)[4] until her appointment to the newLabour government in 1997. She has also concurrently held research fellowships at the Centre for Studies in Public Policy and thePolicy Studies Institute. Blackstone becameVice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Greenwich, holding this position up to 2011.
She has served as chairman of the ballet board of theRoyal Opera House, theFabian Society, and theInstitute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), and has sat on the governing bodies of numerous other organisations. She has been on the Board of Trustees ofThe Architecture Foundation. She is currently Chairman of the British Library and Chairman of Great Ormond Street hospital. She is currently the patron of Hamlin Fistula UK, a charity whose aim is to raise funds and awareness to support the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.
She is aLabourlife peer and sits in theHouse of Lords, having been createdBaroness Blackstone,ofStoke Newington inGreater London, on 18 March 1987.[5] Originally on the Oppositionfront bench in House of Lords, Blackstone held a succession of portfolios during her time at Birkbeck.
Self-described as 'vintage' rather than old ornew Labour, Blackstone wasMinister for Education at theDepartment of Education from 1997 to 2001 thenMinister for the Arts at theDepartment of Culture, Media and Sport 2001–2003. While in her position here she attendedThe European Higher Education Area Ministerial Conferences and was a member of the European Ministers of Education that signed The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999.[6]
On 15 September 2010, Blackstone, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published inThe Guardian, stating their opposition toPope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.[7]
She is a Patron ofHumanists UK and chairs theRoyal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) trust. She is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.[8] In 2009 she became the chair atGreat Ormond Street Hospital, and in 2010 she became chair at theBritish Library, a 4-year term. In September 2012 she joined the board of theOrbit Group housing association as its future chair.[9]
In January 2013, she became co-chair at the Franco-British Council together withChristian de Boissieu, an organisation that seeks to promote better understanding between Britain and France and to contribute to the development of joint action. She is the chair to the British Section of the council.[10] She became the Chair of theBar Standards Board in January 2018.[11]
Her publications, which mainly cover education and social policy issues, include:
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chair of theFabian Society 1984–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Higher and Further Education 1997–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Arts 2001–2003 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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