EMLD Chair, Meral Ece appointed as Equalities and Human Rights Commissioner

12.00.00am GMT Tue 24th Nov 2009

Chair of Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats, Councillor Meral Ece, gets top equalities appointment

Islington Liberal Democrat councillor Meral Ece has been appointed as a Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission. She is one of ten new commissioners, and was picked from over 600 nominees.

The Commission enforces equalities legislation and compliance with the Human Rights Act. It also gives advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to individuals. As a Commissioner, Meral will be a key advisor to the organisation's work on gender, race, and religious equality.

Meral was the UK's first female councillor from the Turkish community. She was a member of the Government's Ethnic Minority Women's Councillors Taskforce. Meral is also a senior advisor to Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg on community cohesion.

Meral said:

"I'm delighted to be appointed and to be able to play a key role with the Commission in ensuring a fairer and more equal future for our communities"

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/our-job/who-we-are/the-team/meral-hussein-ece-obe/

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HARMAN: NEW EHRC COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED

Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, today announced new Commissioners for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The three-year appointments will further strengthen the Commission's work on gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion and belief, and human rights, as well as its work with employers in the public and private sectors, and trade unions. The Commissioners, who were chosen from more than 600 applicants, are (alphabetically by surname):

• Stephen Alambritis

• Ann Beynon OBE (Wales Commissioner)

• Professor Geraldine Van Bueren

• Kay Carberry CBE (appointed for another three year term)

• Meral Hussein Ece OBE

• Baroness Sally Greengross (appointed for another three year term)

• Dr Jean Irvine OBE

• Angela Mason

• Michael Smith

• Simon Woolley

Ms Harman said:

"These new Commissioners join the existing Commissioners to create a strong team to take the EHRC forward.

"Each one brings a wealth of experience, and the new team will be vital in taking forward support for the Equality Bill."

They will join existing Commissioners Trevor Phillips (Chair), Baroness Margaret Prosser (Deputy Chair), Morag Alexander (Scotland Commissioner), Maeve Sherlock, and Joel Edwards to further strengthen each of the equality strands as follows:

Gender

Joining the Commission's Deputy Chair Baroness Margaret Prosser (Chaired Women and Work Commission); Morag Alexander (Scottish Alliance for Women's Training; Founder Editor of Women in Europe; and Director of Scottish Equality Opportunities Commission); Maeve Sherlock (Previously Chief Executive of One Parent Families), women's issues will be further strengthened by:

• Angela Mason is Chair of the Fawcett Society and was a Commissioner of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

• Kay Carberry CBE (appointed for another three year term) was previously on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Work-Life Balance; Work and Parents Task Force; the Women and Work Commission; and the Equal Opportunities Commission.

• Meral Hussein Ece OBE was a member of the Government's Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Women's Councillors Taskforce.

• Ann Beynon OBE is currently BT Director of Wales. She was on the Equality and Opportunities Commission Advisory Board for Wales and has experience of looking at gender equality in global corporations.

Age

• Baroness Sally Greengross (appointed for another three year term) is Executive Chair of ILC (International Longevity Centre); a member of a number of All-Party Parliamentary Groups, (including Chair of Intergenerational Futures, and Chair of Continence Care); and Vice-Chair of Dementia and Ageing & Older People. Baroness Greengross was Director General of Age Concern England, and was their Vice President until 2008. Previously she has been joint Chair of the Age Concern Institute of Gerontology at Kings College London, and Secretary General of Eurolink Age. She is President of the Pension Policy Institute and a Global Ambassador for Help Age International.

Disability

• Stephen Alambritis was previously a member of the Disability Rights Taskforce and a Commissioner of the Disability Rights Commission.

• Dr Jean Irvine OBE is Trustee and Director of RADAR.

• Michael Smith is on the EHRC Disability Committee and Chair of the National Centre for Independent Living. He has been involved in disability rights organisations for the last ten years.

Sexual Orientation

• Angela Mason was Director of Stonewall, the UK lesbian and gay rights group.

• Michael Smith is a member of the board of Stonewall.

Race

Joining existing Commissioner Maeve Sherlock (former Chief Executive of the Refugee Council) and Joel Edwards (General Secretary for the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance) will be:

• Simon Woolley is a founder of Operation Black Vote. He sits on the Government's REACH Taskforce (higher educational attainment of black boys) and was on the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Women's Councillors Taskforce.

• Meral Hussein Ece OBE is special advisor to Nick Clegg MP on Community Cohesion and BME Communities. She was a member of the Government's Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Women's Councillors Taskforce. Meral was the UK's first female Councillor from the Turkish community.

Religion and Belief

Joining existing Commissioner Maeve Sherlock (academic researching the interface between Faith and the State in modern Britain) and Joel Edwards (Former General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance, Chair of Micah Challenge International, and the Churches Media Council) will be:

• Meral Hussein Ece OBE is special advisor to Nick Clegg MP on Community Cohesion and BME Communities. She was a member of the Government's Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Women's Councillors Taskforce.

Human Rights

Joining existing commissioner Baroness Greengross (distinguished human rights academic with extensive experience on Human Rights in Health and Social Care) will be:

• Professor Geraldine Van Bueren is Professor of International Human Rights Law at Queen Mary, University of London and is also a Visiting Fellow, Kellogg College, Oxford. She is a member of the Attorney General's International Pro Bono Coordinating Committee and recently published a book on Child Rights in Europe.

Relations with Trade Unions and Business will be strengthened as follows:

Trade Unions

Joining existing Commissioner Baroness Margaret Prosser (Previously Deputy Secretary General of the Transport and General Workers Union and President of the TUC) will be:

• Kay Carberry CBE (reappointed for another three year term) is currently Assistant General Secretary of the TUC. Prior to this she was Head of Equal Rights Department at the TUC. She was appointed to the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Work-Life Balance; Ministerial Steering Group on Illegal Working Work and Parents Task Force; and the Women and Work Commission.

Business

• Ann Beynon OBE is currently BT Director of Wales and is their strategic and development representative for Wales. Previously she has held a number of senior Business Development roles and she is currently Chair of the Wales Advisory Board for Business in the Community.

• Stephen Alambritis is currently Head of Public Affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses, and was previously a member of the Better Regulation Task Force.

• Dr Jean Irvine OBE holds a number of Board positions including Non-executive Director of Chelsea Building Society and Non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Prior to this Dr Irvine held a number of senior positions within the Post Office and was Director of Customer Relationship Management.

• Michael Smith worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers for 19 years, as a chartered accountant and specialised in company tax advice, risk management, and compliance.

Scotland and Wales

Joining existing Scottish Commissioner Morag Alexander, the new Wales Commissioner will be:

• Ann Beynon OBE is currently BT Director of Wales, Chair of the Wales Advisory Board for Business in the Community, and was previously the Prince of Wales Ambassador in the Community for Wales.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Please contact the Government Equalities Office press office on 0207 276 0932.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

• The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the Government's overall strategy, legislation, and priorities on equality issues. The Office also has direct responsibility for policy on gender equality, sexual orientation, and for integrating work on race. The Prime Minister announced the establishment of the Government Equalities Office (GEO) in July 2007 and it became a Department in its own right in October 2007. It works to Ministers Harriet Harman, Maria Eagle, Vera Baird and Michael Foster.

• The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006, which took over the responsibilities of Commission for Racial Equality, Disability Rights Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission. It is the advocate for equality and human rights in Britain. It aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights. The Commission enforces equality legislation on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status, and encourage compliance with the Human Rights Act and international treaties. It also gives advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to individuals.

About EHRC Commissioners:

1. The Equality Act states that Ministers shall appoint not less than 10 or more than 15 Commissioners to the EHRC.

2. These are statutory appointments under the Equality Act 2006, which the Lord Privy Seal makes in the light of the assessments of the scrutiny panel set out below.

3. The appointments will be for three years from December 2009.

4. EHRC Commissioners are expected to commit to a minimum of 20 and maximum of 30 days per year, at a daily attendance rate of £500.

5. The EHRC Commissioners will not be employees.

6. The appointments have been made in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) Code of Practice.

7. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.

8. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if declared) to be made public.

9. Full biographical details including portraits and details of declared political activity during the past five years can be viewed on the GEO website: www.equalities.gov.uk