effect from 31 January 2012. Wallis had been due to be succeeded by her husband Stewart Arnold who was also employed by her as a Parliamentary Assistant, who had been second on the list of Liberal Democrat candidates for the seat in the 2009 election, but he declined the appointment and eventually went on to found the Yorkshire Party with Richard Carter. Rebecca Taylor, who was third on the list, was appointed instead. Past and present non-parliamentary activities Diana Wallis has pursued a wide variety of non-parliamentary commitments during her tenure as legislator, which she subsequently developed. Democracy and gender equality Wallis has a particular interest in issues of direct democracy and in 2001 she co-founded the Initiatives and Referendums Institute - Europe (IRI-Europe) whose aim it is to assist modern direct democracy across the globe. In March 2006, she hosted an IRI-Europe conference in Brussels to discuss different approaches across Europe towards the issue of direct democracy and in particular the campaign for introducing a citizens' initiative at the European level. She is a board member of the Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe. This is a thinktank which has a particular interest in all issues relating to direct democracy. Before and after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, she played an active role in shaping and implementing the European Citizen's Initiative. Diana Wallis has been a vocal proponent of increasing the share of women in decision-making roles. In the run-up to the appointment of the second Barroso Commission in 2009, she co-launched a campaign "send2women" with the aim of securing at least two women among the top positions in the EU institutions which were rotating that year, and the ambition to increase female representation in the EU institutions overall. In this framework she met Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso in a bid to increase gender equality within the College of Commissioners. Legal issues, mediation and arbitration Diana Wallis's many activities in the legal field include the following: On 6 September 2013, Wallis was elected President of the European Law Institute, an independent non-profit organisation established to initiate, conduct and facilitate research, make recommendations and provide practical guidance in the field of European legal development with a goal of enhancing the European legal integration. She was re-elected in 2015 for a second term, which lasted until 2017. since 2012, Trustee of the Academy of European Law, Trier (ERA,