Jean Roberts (politician)

She was born at 36 Avenue Road in Springburn,[2] Glasgow on 20 December 1895 the daughter of Walter Weir (1867-1926), a railway engineer of Fulton & Weir, and his wife, Mary Nevin. Her parents seem to have separated soon after (or perhaps slightly before) her birth, as her father then married Helen Granger, his cousin.[3] The family then lived at Ravenslea, a villa in Bearsden.[4] She was raised in the Springburn area of Glasgow. She was educated locally at the Albert School then the Whitehill School in Dennistoun.[5] She trained at Dundas Vale Teacher Training College.[6] She then became a primary school teacher at Bishop Street School in the city centre.[7]

Her political career began in 1929 when she stood for the Kingston ward on the River Clyde and won that ward. In 1933 Labour gained control of Glasgow and she began being given various committee roles within the town council. In 1936 she was Senior Magistrate for Glasgow and in 1952 was City Treasurer. Becoming leader of the Labour Party in 1955, she was elected Lord Provost (or, technically, "Lady Provost") in 1960. This critical period of tenure involved much slum clearance in the city and she famously toured the Gorbals district with Queen Elizabeth II in 1961, discussing redevelopment proposals and receiving much press coverage during this trip. The Queen created her a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1962.[7]

She was chair of the Scottish National Orchestra Society. From 1965 to 1972 she was Chair of the Cumbernauld Development Corporation.[6]

She died in Glasgow on 26 March 1988.

In 1922 she married Cameron Roberts (d.1964), a maths teacher. They had one daughter.[8]