23 Facts About Diana Wallis

Diana Wallis resigned her seat in January 2012 and went on to pursue academic, legal and mediation-related activities.

On 6 September 2013, Diana Wallis was elected President of the European Law Institute, an independent non-profit organisation established to initiate, conduct and facilitate research, make recommendations and provide practical guidance in the field of European legal development with a goal of enhancing the European legal integration.

Diana Wallis was re-elected in 2015 for a second term, which lasted until 2017.

Diana Wallis contested Haltemprice and Howden as a Yorkshire Party candidate in the 2015 and 2017 UK General Elections and subsequently left that party in March 2019.

Diana Wallis later joined Change UK and was selected as the lead candidate for Yorkshire and the Humber at the 2019 European Parliament elections.

Diana Wallis read History at North London Polytechnic, graduating as a BA.

Diana Wallis further studied at the University of Kent, where she obtained the degree of Master of Arts, Liege, Zurich and Chester.

Diana Wallis was lecturer at the University of Hull in European business law from 1995 to 1999.

Diana Wallis was a Councillor on Humberside County Council and deputy leader of the East Riding Unitary Council from 1994 to 1999.

Diana Wallis was elected Member of the European Parliament on three successive occasions in 1999,2004 and 2009.

In 2007, Diana Wallis became the first British female of any political persuasion in twenty years to be elected to the post of Vice President of the European Parliament, as well as being the first British Liberal Democrat to do so.

Diana Wallis notably led the call for an official day to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide of 1995 and attended the commemoration in Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on behalf of the European Parliament.

Diana Wallis was rapporteur on a number of non-legislative issues including the role of national judges in the EU's legal system, e-commerce, e-publishing, collective redress, e-Justice, judicial training, mediation, consumer law, and European contract law.

Diana Wallis was a full member of the Petitions Committee where she regularly authored reports on the application of EU law across the Member States and the European Commission's role in monitoring these common rules.

On 30 November 2011 Diana Wallis announced her intention to stand for the position of President of the European Parliament as an independent candidate on the basis of nomination by 40 MEPs from different political groups.

Martin Schulz was elected on 17 January 2012, as anticipated, and pursuant to the agreement between certain political groups, with Diana Wallis obtaining 141 votes.

On 19 January 2012, two days after failing to become the Parliament president, Diana Wallis announced her resignation, which took effect from 31 January 2012.

Diana Wallis had been due to be succeeded by her husband Stewart Arnold who was employed by her as a Parliamentary Assistant, who had been second on the list of Liberal Democrat candidates for the seat in the 2009 election, but he declined the appointment and eventually went on to found the Yorkshire Party with Richard Carter.

Diana Wallis has a particular interest in issues of direct democracy and in 2001 she co-founded the Initiatives and Referendums Institute - Europe whose aim it is to assist modern direct democracy across the globe.

Diana Wallis has been a vocal proponent of increasing the share of women in decision-making roles.

From 2002 to 2009, Diana Wallis was the President of the UK Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

Diana Wallis is a Member of the European Emergency Number Association Advisory Board.

Diana Wallis completed the London Marathon on 26 April 2009 in a time of 5 hours 22 minutes, running in aid of the World Endometriosis Research Foundation.