Mo Mowlam - Wonderful Woman No. 123

Mo Mowlam - 1949–2005
British Politician

Added to the album by Howie, A Wonderful Man

Serious, smart, fun and a fighter... A hell of a woman.
Neil Kinnock, former Labour Leader

Those who have read A Note About The Album, will be aware that I did make some ground rules about who I would accept to be nominated to the album. I asked that religious figures, royalty and British MPs not to be nominated, mostly because of the possible differences of opinion these may create (admittedly, also in part due to my own views on religion and monarchy). Sometimes however, rules should rightly be broken, and in the case of Mo Mowlam, I strongly feel that she is deserving of her place here amongst the Wonderful Women.

Mo joined the Labour party in her first year at Durham University, where she studied Sociology and Anthropology. She took her seat as a Member of Parliament in 1987 and joined the Shadow Cabinet in 1992, initially as Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage and later as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, under Tony Blair's leadership.

Her persistence, toughness and good humour were legendary. All of us who worked to support peace in Northern Ireland owe her our gratitude.
Bill Clinton, Former President of the USA

In the 1997 general election, Labour gained power in a landslide victory and Mo became Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. It was her dedication to peace in Northern Ireland for which Mo is best remembered. She worked with such vigour to instill an IRA ceasefire and held talks with Ulster loyalists in Maze Prison. The work she carried out was dangerous, she met face-to-face with convicted terrorists, she took unprecedented steps and did so with strength and conviction rarely seen in politicians of either sex. In 1998, Mo oversaw the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the starting point of shared power and the beginning of the Northern Ireland Assembley. Today Northern Ireland is a very different country, Belfast a metropolitan centre and the region a growing tourist destination, one wonders if this would have all happened so quickly were it not for one woman.

Aside from politics, Mo set up the charity MoMo Helps, which assisted drug users after their rehabilitation and provided support for families and carers of those affected by drug addiction. The use of drugs was of particular interest to Mo, in parliament, she had called for international legalisation, citing countries like The Netherlands as places were legalisation had been successful and making the argument that the government would benefit from TAX on drugs and the financial gain would be taken out of the hands of criminals. Unusually for a person in power, she also made public that she had smoked cannabis whilst at university.

Shortly before Labour won the 1997 election, Mo had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. She had kept this fact secret for sometime, until the press started to comment on her loss of hair. In 2005, aged just 55, Mo lost her battle with the tumour and died in hospital.

Such a strong, determined and honest woman. Truly Wonderful and unforgettable.

Everyone has got to give a little. No-one is going to get 100% of what they want. If everybody is willing to accept some change, we can do it.
Mo Mowlam