{{Short description|British Liberal Democrat politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Use British English|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] | name = The Baroness Scott<br />of Needham Market | honorific_suffix = | image = File:Official portrait of Baroness Scott of Needham Market crop 2.jpg | office = [[President of the Liberal Democrats]] | term_start = 1 January 2009 | term_end = 1 January 2011 | leader = [[Nick Clegg]] | predecessor = [[Simon Hughes]] | successor = [[Tim Farron]] | office1 = [[Member of the House of Lords]] | status1 = [[Lord Temporal]] | term_label1 = [[Life peer]]age | term_start1 = 11 May 2000 | term_end1 = | office2 = [[Suffolk County Council|Lib Dem Group Leader on Suffolk County Council]] | term_start2 = May 1997 | term_end2 = May 2000 | deputy2 = Peter Monk | predecessor2 = Peter Monk | successor2 = Peter Monk | office4 = [[Suffolk County Council]]lor<br>for [[Bosmere Division, Suffolk|Bosmere]] | term_start4 = 6 May 1993 | term_end4 = 5 May 2005 | predecessor4 = John Patton | successor4 = Julia Truelove | birth_name = Rosalind Carol Leadbeater | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|08|10|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], England | spouse = {{marriage|Mark Valladares|2008}} | children = 2 | party = [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] | alma_mater = [[University of East Anglia]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}} }} '''Rosalind Carol''' "'''Ros'''" '''Scott, Baroness Scott of Needham Market''' (born 10 August 1957)<ref>{{cite web| url = https://parliament.popit.mysociety.org/persons/2542#biography| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180304172900/https://parliament.popit.mysociety.org/persons/2542| archive-date = 2018-03-04| title = Baroness Scott of Needham Market}}</ref> is a British [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] politician, non-executive director of the [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|National Archives]] and a member of the [[House of Lords]]. Baroness Scott was president of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2010 and was succeeded by [[Tim Farron]].<ref>[http://www.libdemvoice.org/lib-dem-presidential-contest-result-2-22056.html Liberal Democrat Voice article on results] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115082726/http://www.libdemvoice.org/lib-dem-presidential-contest-result-2-22056.html |date=15 November 2010 }} - ''[[Lib Dem Voice]]''</ref>
==Early life and education== The daughter of Kenneth Vincent and Carol Leadbeater, she was born in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], [[Somerset]]. Her father, an [[RAF]] serviceman, was posted abroad through much of her childhood, including [[Cyprus]] and [[Singapore]]. She was educated at Whitby Grammar School and [[Kent School, Hostert]], in Germany. She was further educated at the [[University of East Anglia]], where she graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in European Studies with German in 1999.
Scott worked for the Passage Day Care Centre and is Honourable President of the East Coast Sailing Trust. She is also patron of the Pickerel Environment Project, the Pakenham Water Mill Trust and the Wings of Hope Charity Appeal.
==Political career==
===Local government (1991–2005)=== She was a Liberal Democrat councillor in [[Suffolk]] from 1991 to 2005, representing [[Needham Market Ward|Needham Market]] on [[Mid Suffolk District Council]] (1991–94) and [[Bosmere Division, Suffolk|Bosmere]] on Suffolk County Council (1993-2005). She held a number of positions on the County Council, including Group Leader in the joint administration with the Labour Party. She was appointed to the [[Local Government Association]] Transport Executive in 1997, became Chair in 2001 and is now Vice-President of the organisation. She represented UK local government in Europe as a member of the [[Committee of the Regions]] from 1997 to 2001 and as part of the [[North Sea Commission]].
===House of Lords (2000–present)=== On 11 May 2000, she was created a [[life peer]] as '''Baroness Scott of Needham Market''', of [[Needham Market]] in the County of [[Suffolk]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55850 |date=17 May 2000 |page=5419}}</ref>
Baroness Scott has served on numerous committees in the House of Lords, including the domestic Liaison Committee and the [[Communication Committee]]. She served on the Joint Committee on the Draft [[House of Lords Reform Bill 2012|House of Lords Reform Bill]] from July 2011 to March 2012, taking the view that the House of Lords needs major reform. She currently serves on the [[European Union Committee]] and chairs its Energy and Environment Sub-Committee.
=== Liberal Democrats === In 2008, she stood down as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Communities and Local Government to concentrate on being a candidate to be President of the Liberal Democrats.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.im4ros.com/| title = 在线球赛押注(中国)发展有限公司}}</ref> On 8 November 2008, it was announced that she had won the ballot of party members to become President of the Liberal Democrats, beating [[Lembit Öpik]] by a margin of 72% to 22%. She took office as President on 1 January 2009. She later stood down as president and was succeeded by [[Tim Farron]] in 2011.
=== Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (2015–2017) === At the 36th Annual Congress of the [[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party|Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe]] (ALDE), held in Budapest, Hungary from 19 to 21 November 2015, she was elected to be one of ALDE's seven Vice-Presidents for a two-year term.
== Professional life == She has been a [[non-executive director]] at [[Lloyd's Register]], Entrust, the [[Landfill Tax]] regulator and [[ITV Network|ITV]], and was also a member of the Commission for Integrated Transport [[think-tank]]. She is currently a non-executive director of the Harwich Haven Authority, and is the Liberal Democrat-nominated member of the [[House of Lords Appointments Commission]].
==Personal life== Scott was married, but was divorced later. She has a daughter, Sally, and a son, Jamie. On 22 April 2008 she married fellow Liberal Democrat, Mark Valladares.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://members.parliament.uk/member/2542/career UK Parliament site] *[http://www.im4ros.com/ Liberal Democrat presidential campaign site] *[http://www.dodonline.co.uk/engine.asp?lev1=4&lev2=38&menu=81&biog=y&id=26615 Biography] from Dods Online *[http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/baroness-scott-of-needham-market/2542 Biography] from the UK Parliament website
{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=[[Simon Hughes]]}} {{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]|years= 2009 – 2010 }} {{s-aft|after=[[Tim Farron]]}} {{s-end}}
{{UK Liberal Democrats}} {{Current Liberal Democrat Peers}} {{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Rosalind}} [[Category:1957 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Members of Suffolk County Council]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia]] [[Category:Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II]] [[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]] [[Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers|Scott of Needham Market]] [[Category:Women councillors in England]]