Catherine Zena Bearder is a Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

 politician and MEP

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 for South East England.

She was the second placed Liberal Democrat candidate for the European Parliament in the South East region of England

South East England (European Parliament constituency)

South East England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 Members of the European Parliament using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...

. Replacing Emma Nicholson MEP, she was placed behind Sharon Bowles

Sharon Bowles

Sharon Margaret Bowles is a Liberal Democrat politician and Member of the European Parliament for the South East England region of the United Kingdom...

 MEP on the party list for the 2009 European elections

European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)

The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...

. Bearder was elected to the European Parliament on 4 June 2009, and took her seat on 14 July.

A former Lib Dem councillor in Cherwell

Cherwell (district)

Cherwell is a local government district in northern Oxfordshire, England. The district takes its name from the River Cherwell, which drains south through the region to flow into the River Thames at Oxford....

 and on Oxfordshire County Council

Oxfordshire County Council

Oxfordshire County Council, established in 1889, is the county council, or upper-tier local authority, for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire, in the South East of England, an elected body responsible for the most strategic local government services in the county.-History:County Councils...

, twice European candidate and parliamentary candidate for Banbury in 1997 and Henley

Henley (UK Parliament constituency)

Henley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers south Oxfordshire, including Henley-on-Thames. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has long been a safe Conservative...

 in 2001, Catherine has been an active Liberal Democrat for many years. She is also vice-chair of the Lib Dem European Group and vice-president of the Green Liberal Democrats.

Married to Professor Simon Bearder, a zoologist at Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...

. They have three sons, Timothy, Ian and Peter.