41 Facts About Cheryl Gillan

Dame Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament for Chesham and Amersham from 1992 until her death in 2021.

Cheryl Gillan was first elected to the House of Commons in 1992 and served as an MP for 29 years.

Cheryl Gillan was a junior minister for Education and Employment from 1995 to 1997 in John Major's government.

Cheryl Gillan was the Shadow Welsh Secretary from 2005 to 2010.

Cheryl Gillan served in David Cameron's cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales after the 2010 general election until a reshuffle in September 2012.

Cheryl Gillan was awarded a damehood in the 2018 New Year Honours.

Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan was born in Llandaff, a district of Cardiff, in 1952.

Cheryl Gillan's father, Major Adam Mitchell Gillan, was a former British Army officer and a director of a steel company, while her mother, Mona Elsie Freeman, was a Wren.

Cheryl Gillan was brought up in South Wales and her family farms near Usk.

Cheryl Gillan was educated at Elm Tree House and Norfolk House primary schools in Cardiff before her family left Wales when she was aged 11.

Cheryl Gillan attended the independent Cheltenham Ladies' College and the College of Law.

Cheryl Gillan was a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Cheryl Gillan joined the International Management Group in 1977 before becoming a director with the British Film Year in 1984.

Cheryl Gillan became a Freeman of the City of London in 1991 and was a member of the Livery of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.

Cheryl Gillan was chairman of the Bow Group from 1987 to 1988.

Cheryl Gillan unsuccessfully contested the Greater Manchester Central seat in the 1989 European Parliament election.

Cheryl Gillan was elected to the House of Commons in the 1992 general election for the Buckinghamshire seat of Chesham and Amersham.

Cheryl Gillan won the seat with a majority of 22,220 and remained the MP until her death.

Cheryl Gillan made her maiden speech on 25 June 1992.

Cheryl Gillan was the Secretary to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Space and a board member of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology in 1995.

In July 1995, Cheryl Gillan joined the government as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Education and Employment.

Cheryl Gillan represented the British Islands and the Mediterranean on the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association from 2000 until 2003 and was later elected treasurer of the CPA from 2003 until 2006.

Cheryl Gillan was a member of the Parliamentary Association of NATO from 2003 to 2005.

Cheryl Gillan was the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism, and responsible for introducing the Autism Act 2009 through a Private Member's Bill.

Cheryl Gillan was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in December 2005 as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.

Cheryl Gillan was initially opposed to the creation of the National Assembly for Wales, saying that there was not a large enough majority in favour of it in the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum.

Cheryl Gillan said in 2008 that the Conservative Party was divided on the issue of devolution and criticised the state of devolution in Wales as being "complex and cumbersome".

Cheryl Gillan was appointed by David Cameron as Secretary of State for Wales in the new coalition government formed from the 2010 general election.

Cheryl Gillan was appointed a Privy Councillor on 13 May 2010.

In May 2012, Cheryl Gillan unveiled a Wales Office green paper that proposed to cut the number of constituency Assembly members from 40 to 30, with another 30 coming from regional lists.

Cheryl Gillan ceased to be Welsh Secretary following a major Cabinet reshuffle on 4 September 2012, although she wished to continue in the role.

Cheryl Gillan was replaced by David Jones who had been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales; there had been pressure from Welsh Conservative MPs, AMs and activists for her successor to be an MP from a Welsh constituency.

Cheryl Gillan strongly opposed the High Speed 2 railway project.

Cheryl Gillan's constituency lay on the proposed route for the rail line.

Cheryl Gillan described the claim as a "mistake" and said she would be repaying it.

When questioned, Cheryl Gillan said the boiler had broken down, and the claim was within the rules.

Cheryl Gillan wrote to the Bucks Free Press to complain that "insinuating language" had been used.

Cheryl Gillan was married to John Coates "Jack" Leeming from 1985 until his death, aged 91, on 23 March 2019.

Cheryl Gillan's interests included singing, gardening, golf and keeping chickens.

Cheryl Gillan was a member of the Royal Automobile Club.

Cheryl Gillan died from cancer on 4 April 2021, at the age of 68.