Vice Presidency of the European Parliament

On 18 January 2007, Diana was elected Vice President of the European Parliament. She is the first Liberal Democrat and the first British female of any political persuasion to be elected to such a post in twenty years.

Diana's tasks include chairing debate and votes in the Plenary, and participation in the Bureau of Parliament. She also has specific tasks which are:

Transparency and Access to Documents .

Northern Dimension (including: Nordic Council, Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference and Parliamentary Conference of the Arctic Region).

European Law Academy (Trier) .

Question Time (shared with Mr Dos Santos MEP)

What is the European Parliament's "Bureau"?

The Bureau is made up of the President of the European Parliament, the Vice-Presidents and the Quaestors, with observer status, elected by the assembly for a renewable period of two and a half years. The Bureau is the body that lays down rules for Parliament. It draws up Parliament's preliminary draft budget and decides all administrative, staff and organisational matters. The Bureau generally meets twice a month.

• Click here to see who else sits on the Bureau.

• Relevant extracts from the Rules of Procedure.