Angela Harris, Baroness Harris of Richmond

The daughter of Reverend George Hamilton Richards and Eva née Lindley, she was educated at Canon Slade Grammar School in Bolton and at Ealing Hotel and Catering College. Harris worked as an Air Stewardess prior to a career in local government. After moving to Richmond, North Yorkshire she was elected to Richmond Town Council and Richmondshire District Council serving as both Mayor and Chairman. She was elected to North Yorkshire County Council in 1981.

Angela Harris was a member of North Yorkshire County Council from 1981 to 2001 and the first woman to chair the authority in 1991/92. She has also served as Chair of the North Yorkshire Police Authority between 1994 and 2001, was formerly joint Chair (balanced Council) for two years and Deputy Chair of the Association of Police Authorities between 1997 - 2001. Angela is also a former member of the Service Authority National Crime Squad and Police Negotiating Board. For 16 years between 1982-98 Angela was a Justice of the Peace and Chair of Advisory Sub-committee. She was appointed as a NHS Trust non-executive Director (1990–1997). Since 1994 Angela Harris has been Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire and, from 1996, a member of the Court of the University of York.

Angela Harris has acted as a former Party Chief Steward at Federal Conferences for the Liberal Democrats and was a candidate for the party in the 1999 European Parliament Elections.

On 6 August 1999 Angela Harris was created a Liberal Democrat Life Peer, taking the title Baroness Harris of Richmond, of Richmond in the County of North Yorkshire. Since being in the Lords, Angela has chaired the European Union Select sub-Committee F and has been a member of the European Union Select Committee, Offices Committee and Refreshment Sub-Committee. She became a Deputy Speaker in 2008. Between 2000 - 2008 served as a Liberal Democrat Whip. She is also a party spokesperson on Northern Ireland and member of the Home Affairs Team for policing matters. In 2010 Harris became Chair of the Industry and Parliament Trust.

Angela Harris's special interests are the police and she is President of the National Association of Chaplains to the Police. She is Patron of the UK Chapter of ASIS International (the organisation for security professionals with a global membership of 38,000) and the National Victims' Association and a trustee of the Police Rehabilitation Centre, Flint House. She is a Patron of Lister House (Royal British Legion), Trauma International and Hospice Homecare Support Group and also Patron of Herriot Hospice Homecare Northallerton. Angela Harris was awarded the ASIS UK Mervyn David Award in 2012 for her services to the security profession.

Since 1996 member of the Court of the University of York. Harris was appointed High Steward of Ripon Cathedral in 2009.

In 1976, she married secondly John Philip Roger Harris. She has one son from her first marriage to Philip Martin Bowles.