Video Biography – Text Version | Rosemary Butler AM

I’m Rosemary Butler and I’ve been the Assembly Member for Newport West for ten years. After a very enjoyable 26 years as a councillor in Newport it was very thrilling to be elected to the Assembly, and I’m grateful for the support of the people of Newport. Since coming to Cardiff Bay, I’ve been lucky enough to serve as an education minister, chair of the Culture, Welsh Language and Sport committee, the Assembly’s representative on the European Committee of the regions, and I was delighted when my fellow Assembly members recently elected me as Deputy Presiding Officer. I’ll be closely involved in the development of the Assembly as a law making body and I look forward to the challenge.

As the member for Newport West I’m particularly proud of the way the city council and the Assembly have been working together on an exciting range of projects. Thousands of new jobs have come to my constituency over the last few years, and the redevelopment of Newport City Centre is forging ahead in a most remarkable way.

I have been closely involved in all these developments, but I’m also passionately interested in the day-to-day life of individuals and small organisations in Newport. I take a close interest in equality issues, women’s aid, education, the problems of the elderly, the arts, sport and the local environment, and I have provided practical support for many local groups.

At a personal level I’m a mother and grandmother and I always say that if you can get your children off to school, your husband off to work every morning and balance the household budget then you can do anything. My first public act as a private citizen was getting a park bench installed so that I could sit and  watch my children play. At that point I decided to go into politics- a decision I have never regretted, even though I wasn’t able to spend as much time on that bench as I originally hoped!

Video Biography

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