Jean Lambert

Jean Lambert (born 1 June 1950 in Orsett, Essex) is an English politician, and Member of the European Parliament for the London Region. She is a member of the Green Party of England and Wales, and has been an MEP since 1999. She is one of two Green MEPs from the UK; the other is Caroline Lucas. Lambert is a Vice-President of the Greens/European Free Alliance Group of MEPs.

Early Life and career
Lambert gained a BA in Modern Languages in 1971, before taking a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and gaining an ADB(Ed.) in 1975. She then worked as a secondary school teacher in Walthamstow, East London, first from 1972-8, then from 1985-9 and finally between 1993 and 1999. She also holds a Professional Development Certificate (BTEC), which she achieved in 1998.

Green Party Politician and MEP
After joing the UK Green Party in 1977 (later becoming the Green Party of England and Wales), Lambert has held numerous positions, including Co-Chair of the Party Council (1982-1985), Principal Speaker (1992-3 and 1998-9), Chair of the Party Executive (1993-4), Representative to the Federation of European Green Parties (1987-9 and 1998-9) and Political Liaison to the Green Group in the European Parliament (1989-1992). She is currently the party's Employment, Social Affairs and Pensions Spokesperson.

Lambert was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999 from the London Region, winning 87,545 votes (7.7% share). In 2004, she was re-elected, gaining 8.4% of the vote (158,986 votes). As a Member of the European Parliament, she is or has been a member or substitute of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, the Subcommittee on Human Rights, the Intergroup on Disability and Gay and Lesbian Rights and Delegations to South East Asia, Japan and India. She is Vice-President of the Intergroup on Ageing, the Intergroup on Anti-poverty and the Intergroup on Anti-racism and Diversity. She was Rapporteur on the Parliament's Asylum Report. She is Vice-President of the Greens/European Free Alliance Group of MEPs, in which she is the Spokesperson on Asylum and Refugees.

Non-Party Activism and Advisory Roles
Outside her work in the Green Party, Lambert is involved in numerous NGOs. Since 1991, she has been a Council Member of Charter 88, the democratic reform NGO, as well as an Executive Supporter and Signatory for Charter 99, described as "an initiative for global democracy". She has been Vice-President of the Waltham Forest Race Equality Council from 1999. She is a Trustee of the Dalit Solidarity Campaign UK. She is also on Advisory Boards of the Work-Life Institute and London Metropolitan University.

Awards
In October 2005, Lambert was named Justice and Human Rights MEP of the Year 2005.

Academic career
Lambert has written numerous reports and articles on her areas of interest, especially democracy and human rights, sustainable development, anti-discrimination, social inclusion, minority rights, trade union and workers' issues and asylum and refugee rights. She wrote ''No Change? No Chance'', a book on Green politics, in 1996. Furthermore, she has made a film in 2006, ''EU4U! Your voice can make a difference!'', highlighting the ways young people can make a difference within EU structures.