Baroness Gardner of Parkes
Rachel Trixie Anne Gardner, Baroness Gardner of Parkes, (born 17 July 1927) is an Australian dentist, Con-servative politician, and life peeress of the United Kingdom parliament.
Political Career
Rachel Gardner joined the House of Lords on the 19th of June 1981. She started her career in politics as a councillor for the city of Westminster between 1968 and 1978. Between 1970 and 1977 she was a member GLC of Havering and then between 1977 and 1986 for Enfield Southgate. Her career in the House of Lords has spanned a number of committees including the EU Sub-Committee D - Agriculture, Fisheries and Envi-ronment 1984-90, the Library and Computers Sub Committee 2001-02 and the Delegated Powers and Regu-latory Reform Committee in 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-13.
Education
A dentist by profession, she earned a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) in 1954 from the University of Syd-ney and later studied at Cordon Bleu de Paris.
Notable Work
Rachel Gardner has held important positions in both the public and private sector. Between 1971 and 1980 she was a Govenor at Eastman Dental Hospital as well as at the National Heart Hospital between 1974 and 1990. She became a member of the industrial Tribunal Panel for London between 1974 and 1997 and the UK repre-sentative for the UN Status of Women Commission between 1982 and 1988. She was Vice Chair of the NE Thames Regional Health Authority between 1990 and 1994, and the Chairman of the Royal Free Hospital between 1990 and 1994. In her private career path she started out as a Dentist, a profession in which she stayed until 1990. She was a member of the London Electricity Board between 1984 and 1990. Rachel Gardner was then a Director of two companies, the Gateway Building Society and then Woolwich Building Society. She was also Chairman of the Plan International UK between 1989 and 2003.
