Valerie Amos - Baroness, House
of Lords, UK
First black
woman cabinet minister and joint first black woman peer and
recently appointed Leader of the House of Lords, the third woman
in history to lead the upper house of Parliament
Baroness Amos
is one of three black peers that sit in the House of Lords. She
was created a life peer in 1997. She is what is referred as 'a
working peer', and is currently the Secretary of State for
International Development
Prior to her
appointment as Secretary of State for International Development,
Baroness Amos was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary for
Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs in June 2001 with responsibility
for Africa, the Commonwealth, the Caribbean, Overseas
Territories, Consular Issues and FCO Personnel.
Previously she
was the Government Whip from 1998 to 2001 and a co-opted member,
European Union Sub-committee F (Social Affairs, Education and
Home Affairs) from 1997-98.
She was
spokesperson for social security 1998-2001, international
development since 1998, women's issues 1998-2001, and foreign
and commonwealth office 2001
Born in March
1954 in Guyana, Valerie Ann Amos began her career in local
government, working in various London boroughs from 1981 to
1989. She was educated at Townley Grammar School for Girls
before completing a degree in sociology at Warwick University in
1976, a master's degree in cultural studies from Birmingham
University in 1977 and doctoral research at University of East
Anglia.
She was chief
executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission from 1989 to
1994, and then director of Amos Fraser Bernard from 1995 to
1998.
She was deputy
chair of the Runnymede Trust, a trustee of Institute of Public
Policy Research and involved in Project Hope, an NGO which
promotes healthcare.
Her charity
works involved being the chair of the board of governors at
Royal College of Nursing Institute from 1994 to 1998 and one of
the directors of Hampstead Theatre
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