Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie
Encyclopedia
Irene Tordoff "Rennie" Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie, DBE
(born 29 April 1942, Fife
, Scotland
) is a British
civil servant.
Educated at Ribston Hall Grammar School for Girls in Gloucester
, she has had a long career specialising in training and development. Now described as a "portfolio" worker, Lady Fritchie holds various positions in addition to that of United Kingdom Commissioner for Public Appointments, including President of the Pennell Initiative for Women’s Health in Later Life.
In the 1970s, she was one of the first full-time women's training advisers and pioneered the training of staff in the then new Equal Opportunities Commission. Using a German Marshall Fellowship awarded in 1985, she drew lessons from the United States of America for the United Kingdom
for programmes to improve the status of women. She has published extensively on these topics and contributes regularly on them to programmes on television and radio.
She became Commissioner for Public Appointments in 1999. This appointment was renewed in 2002 and 2005. She became Chairman of Nominet in 2010. She holds a number of positions outside government. She holds an honorary Professorship in Creative Leadership at York University and is Pro-Chancellor at Southampton University, a Civil Service Commissioner and Vice-Chair of the Stroud and Swindon Building Society. Active in a number of charities, Fritchie has been awarded honorary degrees
by a number of academic institutions.
Fritchie became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996. In 2005 she was made a life peer
as Baroness Fritchie, of Gloucester in the County of Gloucestershire, and she sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords
.
Fritchie is Chair of the 2gether NHS Foundation Trust in Gloucestershire.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 29 April 1942, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
civil servant.
Educated at Ribston Hall Grammar School for Girls in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, she has had a long career specialising in training and development. Now described as a "portfolio" worker, Lady Fritchie holds various positions in addition to that of United Kingdom Commissioner for Public Appointments, including President of the Pennell Initiative for Women’s Health in Later Life.
In the 1970s, she was one of the first full-time women's training advisers and pioneered the training of staff in the then new Equal Opportunities Commission. Using a German Marshall Fellowship awarded in 1985, she drew lessons from the United States of America for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for programmes to improve the status of women. She has published extensively on these topics and contributes regularly on them to programmes on television and radio.
She became Commissioner for Public Appointments in 1999. This appointment was renewed in 2002 and 2005. She became Chairman of Nominet in 2010. She holds a number of positions outside government. She holds an honorary Professorship in Creative Leadership at York University and is Pro-Chancellor at Southampton University, a Civil Service Commissioner and Vice-Chair of the Stroud and Swindon Building Society. Active in a number of charities, Fritchie has been awarded honorary degrees
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
by a number of academic institutions.
Fritchie became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996. In 2005 she was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baroness Fritchie, of Gloucester in the County of Gloucestershire, and she sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
Fritchie is Chair of the 2gether NHS Foundation Trust in Gloucestershire.