Appointment of New Minister in Charge of Arts and Heritage in UK
Barbara Follett has been the MP for Stevenage since May 1997. She is also Minister for the East of England. In Prime Minister Gordon Brown's recent cabinet reshuffle, she will be responsible for the following areas; Arts, Heritage, Architecture, the Royal Parks, Museums, Galleries, Libraries and Archives. She will also be responsible for Tourism, the National Lottery.
Barbara was born in Jamaica but grew up in Ethiopia. Before entering politics, she enjoyed a varied career, which included managing a fruit farm in South Africa, lecturing on cross-cultural management and a stint as Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy Research. She obtained a Bsc. (Econ) in Economic History at the London School of Economics.
During her time in parliament, Barbara has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to both Tessa Jowell and Ruth Kelly as Minister for Women and to Tessa Jowell again as Secretary of State at the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
From October 2007 – October 2008 Barbara was the Parliamentary Secretary for Equality, supporting the Minister for Women and Equalities, Harriet Harman.
Barbara lives in Knebworth with her husband, author Ken Follett, and their two dogs. Between them they have five children and four grandchildren.
Aside from politics, her other interests include Scrabble, photography and Star Trek.
