Local Turkish Lib Dem activist becomes a Baroness (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Local Turkish Lib Dem activist becomes a Baroness

June 1, 2010 5:43 PM

Former Islington Lib Dem councillor Meral Ece OBE

Local activist and former Lib Dem councillor, Meral Ece OBE, has been made a Baroness and will shortly take up her seat in the House of Lords.

Meral had a long standing career as a councillor, first in Hackney then she was a councillor for Mildmay in Islington for 8 years. In that time she held many important positions at Islington Council, including Executive Member for Adult Social Services and Chair of the Overview Committee.

In the past year, she became a Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission; in recognition of the work she has done promoting the Turkish Community within the UK.

Leader of Islington Lib Dems, Cllr Terry Stacy, comments:

"I'm absolutely delighted that Meral has received a life peerage. It's a richly deserved honour and a fitting tribute to her unwavering dedication to serving the local community over many years, work that has already earned her an OBE for services to local government.

"Having worked alongside Meral for over ten years, I know that at the heart of everything she does is her passionate commitment to social justice, to ensuring services are accessible to all Islington's diverse communities, and to championing greater involvement of ethnic minority communities in public life.

"She will join the House of Lords as the first female Turkish peer, and I have no doubt she will make a great and unique contribution. I speak for all of Islington when I say how proud we are of her."