My mother, Theresa Stewart, who has died aged 90, was the Labour leader of Birmingham city council, the UKs largest local authority, from 1993 to 1999. She was the first, and is still the only, woman to hold the post.
During that time, she moved the council away from spending on infrastructure and convention centres to a focus on social services and education. Under Theresas leadership, Birmingham was rated Britains best local authority in the 1998 Local Government Chronicle awards.
Birmingham hosted the G8 summit in 1998. Theresa met Tony Blair and Bill Clinton and had tea with Boris Yeltsins wife, Naina. However it was the photo of her meeting with Nelson Mandela on his visit to Birmingham in 1993 that had pride of place on her mantelpie…
Read the full article at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/nov/26/theresa-stewart-obituary
