Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal was educated at University of London where she earned her law degree in 1976. She received a life peerage as Baroness Scotland of Asthal in 1997. Asthal is a village in the country of Oxfordshire.
Baroness Scotland was born to Antiguan and Dominican parents in Dominica. She is the tenth of twelve children. Her parents moved to Walthamstow, London when she was 3 years old.
Here is some of the amazing work that has been achieved by this amazing woman
Baroness Scotland was born to Antiguan and Dominican parents in Dominica. She is the tenth of twelve children. Her parents moved to Walthamstow, London when she was 3 years old.
Here is some of the amazing work that has been achieved by this amazing woman
She was educated at University of London where she earned her law degree in 1976.
She then studied at the Middle Temple and was Called to the bar in 1977
In 1991 she was the first black woman to be made a Queen’s Counsel.
She was a speaker at the ‘Women of the Year’ Luncheon in October 1993
In 1999, Tony Blair appointed her as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In 2001, she was raised to the Privy Council, the highest court of appeal in the United Kingdom and for several other Commonwealth countries.
Later that year she was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary at the (then) Lord Chancellor’s Department.
Baroness Scotland was also an Alternate UK Government Representative of the European Convention from 2002 to 2003.
In June 2003, reflecting her loyalty, her penchant for getting the job done and growing popularity in the Blair government, she was made Home Office Minister of State for the Criminal Justice System and Law Reform, and also spokesperson for the Department of Trade and Industry on women and equality issues in the House of Lords. That appointment meant another first for Baroness Scotland in becoming the first black female British government minister, and a clear indication of the high regard of her peers.
Baroness Scotland was the lead minister on immigration and asylum matters, legal aid, legal services and the development of civil law in the UK.
In June 2007, Baroness Scotland was elevated to the Cabinet of the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, as Attorney General – the highest ranking law enforcement official in Great Britain, and the first woman to hold that office.
Baroness Scotland has been active on many professional and community organisations, giving of her time to the Bar Public Relations Committee; the Professional Conduct Committee; the Judicial Studies Board; the Ethnic Minority Advisory Committee; the House of Commons Working Party on Child Abduction; theNational Consumer Counsel; the Telephone Services Standards Board; and the Mentally Disordered Offenders Committee. Additionally, she is a member of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship; the All Party Parliamentary Group on Breast Cancer; the Labour Party Women’s Group; the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children; the Lord’s Prayer Group; and Patron of the Women and Children’s Welfare Fund.
Reflecting her love for her country of birth, she has never forgotten her Caribbean roots and become a member of the bar in Dominica, and also in Antigua, her father’s birthplace.
In 2005, the charming and gracious Baroness Scotland opened Dominica’s Carib House, the official house for Dominica’s indigenous people; and in 2006, on behalf of the British Government, she signed an agreement with the Dominica Government to allow for exchange of prisoners between the two countries and was Chair of the HMG Caribbean Advisory Group.
Baroness Scotland has received numerous awards and commendations, including an honorary degree from the University of Westminster for her services to law.
