Maria Fyfe

Early life

Born Maria O'Neill, the daughter of James O’Neill and Margaret Lacey, she became a member of the Labour Party in 1960. She returned to education as a mature student, studying Economic History at the University of Strathclyde and graduatied in 1975. She worked as a senior lecturer in the Trade Union Studies Unit at Glasgow Central College of Commerce from 1978 to 1987. In 1980, she was elected to Glasgow District Council, serving as Vice-Convener of the Finance Committee from then until 1984, when she became Convener of the Personnel Committee. She remained in this position until 1987, when she was elected to Parliament.

Parliamentary career

At the 1987 general election, Fyfe was returned to Parliament as Member for Glasgow Maryhill, a position she occupied until the 2001 general election. She served as Deputy Shadow Minister for Women from 1988 to 1991, Convener of the Scottish Group of Labour MPs from 1991 to 1992, and front bench spokesperson for Scotland from 1992 to 1995. She chaired concurrently the Labour Party Departmental Committee on International Development and the Labour Group in the UK Delegation to the Council of Europe, both from 1997 to 2001. At the 2001 General Election and was succeeded by Ann McKechin. Fyfe was awarded an honorary D.Univ. by the University of Glasgow in 2002.

She was quoted as saying: "I am proudest of having been involved in the 50-50 campaign to ensure that the Scottish Parliament started life with an almost equal representation of women, up there with the Scandinavian countries".

Personal life

The then Maria O'Neill married James Joseph Fyfe in 1964; the couple had two sons. Her husband is deceased.