Kate Allen (Amnesty International)

Last updated

Katherine Allen
Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK (cropped).jpg
Kate Allen in May 2013
Born (1955-01-25) 25 January 1955 (age 68)
Alma mater Brasenose College
University of Oxford
Employer Amnesty International UK

Katherine Allen (born 25 January 1955) was the Director of Amnesty International UK (AIUK) from 2000 to 2021. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Katherine Allen was the daughter of William Allen and Patricia Allen (née Middleton). She gained a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Brasenose College, University of Oxford. Allen was made an Honorary Fellow by the university in 2006. [3]

Career

Allen was a policy officer at the Greater London Council from 1977 to 1979. She then became a scientific officer at the Social Science Research Council (1979–80) and a policy officer at Haringey London Borough Council (1980–81). From 1981 to 1987, Allen was senior policy officer in Social Services for the Association of County Councils. [3]

She was elected to Camden Council in 1982, representing Kilburn for the Labour Party. [4] [5] Whilst on the council, she was chair of the Women's Committee. [6] [7] In March 1990, whilst still a councillor, she attempted to become the Labour PPC for the marginal seat of Hampstead and Highgate, which included Kilburn. However, she lost out to the actress Glenda Jackson on the third ballot. [8] Allen remained a councillor until the May 1990 local elections. [9]

Allen speaks at the International Human Rights Day event held in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London on 10 December 2018. Kate Allen.jpg
Allen speaks at the International Human Rights Day event held in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London on 10 December 2018.

She became deputy chief executive of the Refugee Council in 1987, a role she held until 1999. [3] There, Allen headed the UK emergency evacuation programmes for Bosnia and Kosovo, and chaired the Asylum Rights Campaign during the passage of new asylum and immigration legislation. [10] In 1998/99 she was seconded to the Home Office, where she worked on the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act. [1]

In 2000, Allen was appointed the UK Director of Amnesty International, the third-largest Amnesty section worldwide with more than a quarter of a million supporters; [1] Allen undertook a major restructure, and established the Human Rights Action Centre in Shoreditch. [11] [12] Having appeared on BBC Question Time , [13] in October 2005 she wrote a two-page article in The Observer newspaper, which launched an international campaign on Internet censorship and repression.

"While the internet has brought freedom of information to millions, for some it has led to imprisonment by a government seeking to curtail that freedom. They have closed or censored websites and blogs; created firewalls to prevent access to information; and restricted and filtered search engines to keep information from their citizens." [14]

In March 2021, Allen announced she would be retiring from Amnesty International in September of the same year, after 21 years. [15]

Personal life

For 20 years, Allen was the partner of Ken Livingstone, former leader of the Greater London Council, then Member of Parliament, and later the first Mayor of London. Allen was one of the three Labour councillors representing Kilburn on Camden Council. [16] [4] The couple's relationship ended in 2001. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater London Council</span> English local administrative body (1965–1986)

The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs and other entities. A new administrative body, known as the Greater London Authority (GLA), was established in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenda Jackson</span> English actress and politician (1936–2023)

Glenda May Jackson was an English actress and politician. She was one of the few performers to achieve the American Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. A member of the Labour Party, she served continuously as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 23 years, initially for Hampstead and Highgate from 1992 to 2010, and Hampstead and Kilburn from 2010 to 2015, following boundary changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brent East (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Former UK Parliament constituency, 1974–2010

Brent East was a parliamentary constituency in north west London; it was replaced by Brent Central for the 2010 general election. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brent London Borough Council elections</span> Local elections in London

Brent London Borough Council in London, England is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2002, 63 councillors have been elected from 21 wards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampstead and Kilburn (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Hampstead and Kilburn is a constituency created in 2010 and currently represented in the House of Commons by Tulip Siddiq of the Labour Party. Glenda Jackson was the MP from 2010 to 2015, having served for the predecessor seat since 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Finsberg</span> British Conservative politician

Geoffrey Finsberg, Baron Finsberg, was a British Conservative politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead from 1970 to 1983, and for its successor constituency, Hampstead & Highgate, from 1983 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siân Berry</span> Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales

Siân Rebecca Berry is a British politician who served as Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongside Jonathan Bartley from 2018 to 2021, and as its sole leader from July to October 2021. From 2006 to 2007, she was one of the Green Party's principal speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camden London Borough Council</span>

Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Camden is divided into 20 wards, each electing two or three councillors.

Sir Geoffrey Lionel Bindman KC (Hon) is a British solicitor specialising in human rights law, and founder of the human rights law firm Bindman & Partners. He has been Chair of the British Institute of Human Rights since 2005. He won The Law Society Gazette Centenary Award for Human Rights in 2003, and was knighted in 2007 for services to human rights. In 2011, he was appointed Queen's Counsel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulip Siddiq</span> British politician

Tulip Rizwana Siddiq is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Kilburn since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she was the Camden London Borough Councillor for Regent's Park from 2010 until 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Brent London Borough Council election</span> 2006 local election in England

The 2006 Brent London Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Brent London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Brent London Borough Council election</span> 2010 local election in England

The 2010 Brent London Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Brent London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Brent London Borough Council election</span> 2014 local election in England

The 2014 Brent London Borough Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Brent London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Brent London Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in Brent

The 2022 Brent London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 57 members of Brent London Borough Council were to be elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Camden London Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in Camden

The 2022 Camden London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 55 members of Camden London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Enfield London Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in Enfield

The 2022 Enfield London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022, alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom. All 63 members of Enfield London Borough Council were elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Greenwich London Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in Greenwich

The 2022 Greenwich London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 55 members of Greenwich London Borough Council will be elected. The elections will take place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Haringey London Borough Council election</span> 2022 local election in Haringey

The 2022 Haringey London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 57 members of Haringey London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 Newham London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 66 members of Newham London Borough Council were elected. The election took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

Felicity Marion Peel Rea, known as Flick Rea, is an English Liberal Democrat politician in Camden, north west London, who for 35 years represented the Fortune Green ward on Camden Council, before her retirement in 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kate Allen, Director Amnesty International UK" (PDF). Amnesty International UK. May 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  2. Delahunty, Stephen (19 May 2021). "Amnesty chief steps down early amid claims it has failed to adequately tackle institutional racism". Third Sector UK. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Allen, Katherine, (Kate), (born 25 Jan. 1955), Director, Amnesty International UK, 2000–21". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u5315. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 London Borough Council elections : 6 May 1982 (PDF). Greater London Council. Intelligence Unit. [London]: Greater London Council. 1982. ISBN   0-7168-1257-6. OCLC   15657315.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. London Borough Council elections : 8 May 1986 (PDF). London: London Residuary Body - Research and Intelligence Unit. 1986. ISBN   1852610034.
  6. 1 2 Womack, Sarah (6 November 2001). "Livingstone splits up with long-time lover". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 20 July 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  7. James, Selma (2012). Sex, Race and Class-The Perspective of Winning : a Selection of Writings 1952-2011. Nina Lopez, Marcus Rediker. Chicago: PM Press. ISBN   978-1-60486-713-8. OCLC   779828582.
  8. Bryant, Christopher (1999). Glenda Jackson : the biography. Hammersmith, London: HarperCollinsPublishers. pp. 195–199. ISBN   0-00-255911-0. OCLC   42790640.
  9. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis (1990). London Borough Council Elections : 3 May 1990 (PDF). London: London Research Centre. ISBN   1-85261-115-4. OCLC   43128762.
  10. "Kate Allen biography". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  11. "UK: Amnesty director Kate Allen announces her retirement". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  12. ""There is still a lot for us to do" – An interview with the director of Amnesty International UK, Kate Allen". Exeposé Online. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. "This week's panel". 20 October 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  14. Allen, Kate (28 May 2006). "Today, our chance to fight a new hi-tech tyranny". The Observer. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  15. "UK: Amnesty director Kate Allen announces her retirement". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  16. Greater London Council. Intelligence Division (1978). London borough council elections, 4 May 1978 (PDF). London. ISBN   0-7168-0994-X. OCLC   1100897821.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)