Catherine Ashton

The Baroness Ashton of Upholland
Ashton in 2009
Chancellor of the University of Warwick
Assumed office
1 January 2017
Vice-ChancellorStuart Croft
Preceded byRichard Lambert
First Vice-President of the European Commission
In office
10 February 2010 – 31 October 2014
PresidentJosé Manuel Barroso
Preceded byMargot Wallström
Succeeded byFrans Timmermans
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
In office
1 December 2009 – 31 October 2014
Preceded byJavier Solana (Common Foreign and Security Policy)
Succeeded byFederica Mogherini
European Commissioner for Trade
In office
3 October 2008 – 1 December 2009
PresidentJosé Manuel Barroso
Preceded byPeter Mandelson
Succeeded byBenita Ferrero-Waldner
Leader of the House of Lords
Lord President of the Council
In office
28 June 2007 – 3 October 2008
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byThe Baroness Amos
Succeeded byThe Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
In office
8 May 2007 – 27 June 2007
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byHerself
Succeeded byThe Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
In office
9 September 2004 – 8 May 2007
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byThe Lord Filkin
Succeeded byHerself
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sure Start, Early Years, Childcare and School Standards[1]
In office
12 June 2001 – 9 September 2004
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byJacqui Smith
Succeeded byThe Lord Filkin
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
20 October 1999
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born
Catherine Margaret Ashton

(1956-03-20) 20 March 1956 (age 68)
Upholland, West Lancashire
Political partyNon-affiliated
Labour
Spouse
(m. 1988)
EducationBedford College, London

Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, LG, GCMG, PC (born 20 March 1956) is a British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and First Vice President of the European Commission in the Barroso Commission from 2009 to 2014.

Her political career began in 1999 when she was created a life peer as Baroness Ashton of Upholland, of St Albans in the County of Hertfordshire,[2] by Tony Blair's Labour government. She became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Education and Skills in 2001 and subsequently in the Ministry of Justice in 2004. She was appointed a Privy Councillor in May 2006 and Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in April 2023.[3]

Ashton became Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council in Gordon Brown's first Cabinet in June 2007. She was instrumental in steering the EU's Treaty of Lisbon through the UK Parliament's upper chamber. In 2008, she was appointed as the British European Commissioner and became the Commissioner for Trade in the European Commission.[4]

In December 2009, she became the inaugural High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy that was created by the Treaty of Lisbon. As High Representative, Ashton served as the EU's foreign policy chief.[5] Despite being criticised by some, particularly at the time of her appointment and in the early stages of her term of office, for her limited previous experience of international diplomacy, Ashton subsequently won praise for her work as a negotiator in difficult international situations, in particular for her role in bringing Serbia and Kosovo to an agreement in April 2013 that normalised their ties, and in the P5+1 talks with Iran which led to the November 2013 Geneva interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme.[6]

In January 2017, Ashton became Chancellor of the University of Warwick, succeeding Sir Richard Lambert and becoming Warwick's first female chancellor.[7]

  1. ^ Jointly with Department of Work and Pensions from June 2003.
  2. ^ "No. 24651". The Edinburgh Gazette. 6 August 1999. p. 1667.
  3. ^ "New appointments to the Order of the Garter". Royal.uk. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ft-2008-10-4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Castle, Stephen; Erlanger, Steven (19 November 2009). "Low-Profile Leaders Chosen for Top European Posts". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian-20131124 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Baroness Ashton to become Chancellor of the University of Warwick". Warwick Insite. University of Warwick. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.