30 Facts About Gisela Stuart

Gisela Stuart, Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston is a British-German politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1997 to 2017.

Gisela Stuart is a member of the Steering Committee of the Constitution Reform Group, a cross-party organisation chaired by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, which seeks a new constitutional settlement in the UK by way of a new Act of Union.

Baroness Gisela Stuart was appointed as the First Civil Service Commissioner in March 2022.

Gisela Stuart Gschaider was born in Velden, Bavaria, West Germany on 26 November 1955 to Martin and Liane Gschaider.

Gisela Stuart was deputy director of the 1983 London Book Fair.

Gisela Stuart graduated from the University of London with an LLB in 1993, having studied through the University of London External System.

Gisela Stuart began researching for a PhD in trust law at the University of Birmingham while she lectured Law to AAT students at Worcestershire College, but did not complete her PhD and instead went into politics full-time.

In 1995, Gisela Stuart was selected as Labour's parliamentary candidate for the Birmingham Edgbaston constituency.

On 1 May 1997, Gisela Stuart was elected as the first-ever Labour MP for the constituency, making it one of a succession of traditional Conservative seats to fall to Labour control in a landslide victory for the party.

Gisela Stuart's victory was the first televised Labour gain of the evening.

Gisela Stuart left this post in the reshuffle that followed after the 2001 election.

In Blair's second ministry, Gisela Stuart was appointed as one of the UK Parliamentary Representatives to the European Convention, which was tasked with drawing up a new constitution for the European Union.

Gisela Stuart subsequently expounded these views in a 2004 Fabian Society pamphlet, The Making of Europe's Constitution.

Between 2001 and 2010, Gisela Stuart served as a member of the House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Gisela Stuart retained her seat at the 2005 election but her majority was halved in both percentage and numerical terms.

Gisela Stuart retained her seat at the 2015 election with a majority of 2,706 votes, more than double her majority from 2010.

Gisela Stuart is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society principles, which promote the spread of liberal democracy across the world and the maintenance of a strong military with global expeditionary reach.

Gisela Stuart was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 2015, giving her the honorific title "The Right Honourable" for life.

Since 2015, Gisela Stuart has been a Steering Committee member of the Constitution Reform Group, a cross-party pressure group of current and former politicians, academics, constitutional law experts, former officials in Parliament and government and ordinary citizens.

Gisela Stuart announced on 19 April 2017 that she would not seek re-election at the 2017 snap general election.

Gisela Stuart was succeeded by Preet Gill, a Labour and Co-operative politician, and the first female British Sikh MP.

In 2019, Gisela Stuart announced she would vote for the Conservative Party in the 2019 general election.

Gisela Stuart remained a member of the Labour Party after the election.

Gisela Stuart served as Chair of Vote Leave, the body which was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum on European Union membership.

In 2016, Gisela Stuart became the sixth President of the Birmingham Bach Choir.

Gisela Stuart became the chair of Wilton Park, an executive agency of the UK Foreign Office dedicated to conflict resolution in international relations, on 1 October 2018.

Gisela Stuart was appointed as First Civil Service Commissioner in March 2022.

Gisela Stuart was appointed an Honorary Captain in the Royal Naval Reserve in July 2021.

In 2021, Gisela Stuart was appointed chair of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee for a term of five years from 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2026.

Gisela Stuart married Robert Stuart in 1980, and they divorced in 2000.