"Just call me Ruth" - biography of a modern politician

If you look along any High Street you will find that every other retail outlet, bank or jeweller is there by dint of a refugee. If you need the services of the NHS, you will find that every other doctor or nurse has ancestors from another continent. If you watch WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? on television, virtually every person has at some time in their history, had an ancestor who came to the UK seeking refuge from persecution of some kind or another. Thank goodness for these brave and imaginative people who had the wit to leave countries in which they might have been slaughtered, and who in time have brought the UK so many benefits.

Ruth Munzer's parents were refugees, fleeing from Germany, via Holland and picked up mid channel in an inadequate boat, (in fact the only boat to escape during the Germany occupation). Found by the British navy and imprisoned, they were later allowed to live legally in this country in Leicester. Ruth was born in the UK some time after her parents' arrival.

My husband and I first met Ruth when our family moved to Lancaster. She was at that time a lecturer in the History Department of Lancaster University with a young son. We sought help from her then MP husband (Stanley Henig) as the education in the north west of England was a generation behind schools in the south. Several years later I went as a mature student to Lancaster University and Ruth was giving lectures on Europe and the Wider World, and specialising in the League of Nations and the United Nations. Pregnant with her second son, she seemed to cope with minimal effort and was widely respected by staff and students alike. She had a sharp and witty mind, could hold her own with her colleagues and down a pint of bitter with little or no effort, in the days when the rest of us were still experimenting with cheap wines. Her confidence was apparent, but her eyeisight was not brilliant and if she ignored you in the supermarket, it was because she couldn't see you.

Party politics to many has to be about as exciting as watching paint dry, but Ruth was very loyal to the Labour Party, attending meetings of all kinds, shapes and sizes. She was Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster but was not successful. However, as Lancashire County Councillor she contributed many years service and what is more also chaired various police authorities in England. Ruth was also a magisrate in Lancaster, chairing the bench before going to the House of Lords. Ruth was always encouraging to the women she met, and even though I am ten years her senior, she nevertheless helped me assert myself in gaining roles on school governing bodies, which usually male colleagues thought it was their right to have.

About five years ago, I heard Ruth being interviewed on the radio in her role as Chair of one of the English police authorities. At that time my husband was a Chairman of a charity called Rock Challenge and we were always looking towards funding, which often came through police forces. Rock Challenge is an Australian import, set up to help young people give up smoking, drinking and taking drugs. It involves 20,000 children in the UK and has been seen as very successful in encouraging youngsters to achieve their potential and in reducing crime. We contacted Ruth to see if she could help but were unable at that time to identify how she might do this.

As a graduate of Lancaster University I receive once a year a well documented magazine outlining all the usual information on students and staff. I noticed at the bottom of the Vice Chancellor's report, printed in the smallest font available, a note to the effect that Dr Ruth Henig JP etc. had been honoured with a seat in the House of Lords. How much bigger the print would have been had it been a male lecturer. How begrudging. I wrote at once to Ruth and found that she was then to be know as Baroness Henig of Lancaster. I explained to her that although I had serious doubts about such a second chamber as the House of Lords, I felt that she, above all the people I had encountered in my life, was worthy of being appointed and that I was certain she would do a very good job.

Ruth always supports young people, in schools, colleges, universities, friends and family. She very kindly invited our grandson to dinner at the House. He was mightily impressed. Ruth has many academic publications to her name, some of which she has written with her son Simon.

Ruth was appointed Head of Security Industry Authority in December 2006 under the aegis of the Home Office, responsible for the private security industry and as usual I expect she carries out all these responsibilities with a chilling efficiency and a smile.

Ruth still supports Leicester City, the football club of the city in which her parents were finally allowed to stay. She plays bridge for the House of Lords team and was in the Ladies' national finals. I have heard her play piano extremely well. She has two sons and four grandchildren. Ruth still gives history lectures for sixth formers and I was pleased to hear her deliver a lecture on the origins of Hitler's thoughts on genocide: a lecture she confided in me she had put off for so long, but finally felt the need to add her voice to the existing historical records.

The Be Your Best Foundation, promoter of Rock Challenge, was interested in finding a patron and we finally approached Ruth and asked her to be just that. For someone so busy I was very pleased when she agreed to take on this challenge. Ruth loves theatre and dance and so enjoys the performances she attends in London, Portsmouth and Grimsby. In the course of any one day this lady goes from the House of Lords, to the Home Office and then presents prizes to winning schools. She knows the staff and meets the students and teachers and is very enthusiastic about the effect that this charity has on the lives of young people. "Just call me Ruth" she always says when meeting people for the first time.

Ruth is honest, caring and always cheerful, even at times when her life has been difficult. We need to remind ourselves that without the bravery of her parents and the sacrifices they made, we should not today have a woman of such renown and dedication working in the service of this country.

Baroness Henig CBE, DL,PhD, of Lancaster. Born Ruth Beatrice Munzer