British Dominican barrister and Labour life peer (born 1955)
Her Excellency The Right Honourable
The Baroness Scotland of Asthal
PC KC
Scotland in 2018
6th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 April 2016
Head
Elizabeth II
Charles III
Chair
Joseph Muscat (Malta)
Theresa May (UK)
Boris Johnson (UK)
Paul Kagame (Rwanda)
Preceded by
Kamalesh Sharma
Attorney General for England and Wales
In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
Preceded by
Peter Goldsmith
Succeeded by
Dominic Grieve
Junior ministerial offices
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
In office 12 April 2010 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
Preceded by
Office created
Succeeded by
Dominic Grieve
Attorney General for Northern Ireland
In office 28 June 2007 – 12 April 2010
Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
Preceded by
The Lord Goldsmith
Succeeded by
John Larkin
Minister of State for Criminal Justice and Offender Management[a]
In office 12 June 2003 – 28 June 2007
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Preceded by
The Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Succeeded by
The Baroness Browning (2011)
Parliamentary Secretary for Lord Chancellor's Department
In office 12 June 2001 – 13 June 2003
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Preceded by
The Lord Bach
Succeeded by
The Lord Filkin
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 28 July 1999 – 12 June 2001
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Preceded by
The Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
Succeeded by
Ben Bradshaw
The Baroness Amos
Further offices held
Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales
In office 11 May 2010 – 7 October 2011
Leader
Harriet Harman (acting)
Ed Miliband
Preceded by
Edward Garnier
Succeeded by
Emily Thornberry
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Life peerage 6 November 1997
Personal details
Born
Patricia Janet Scotland
(1955-08-19) 19 August 1955 (age 68) Dominica, British Windward Islands
Political party
Labour
Alma mater
Anglia Ruskin University
University College London[1]
Middle Temple
Occupation
Diplomat
Profession
Barrister
Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, PC, KC (born 19 August 1955), is a British diplomat, barrister and politician, serving as the sixth secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations. She was elected at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and took office on 1 April 2016. She is the first woman to hold the post.[2] She was elevated to the House of Lords in 1997 and, as a British Labour Party politician, served in ministerial positions within the UK Government, most notably as the Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland. She is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Dominica, where she was born.[3]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"Patricia Scotland". University of London. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
^"Commonwealth elects first woman secretary general". Times of Malta. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
^"CHOGM: Patricia Scotland is first female Commonwealth secretary-general". The Australian. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, PC, KC (born 19 August 1955), is a British diplomat, barrister and politician, serving as the sixth...
expected to be an election for a new Commonwealth Secretary-General as PatriciaScotland indicated in 2022 that she would only serve for two more years. "Commonwealth...
term was five years. The current Secretary-General is Dominica's PatriciaScotland, who replaced Kamalesh Sharma as secretary-general on 1 April 2016...
Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria...
divisions of the Secretariat. The present secretary-general is PatriciaScotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, from Dominica, who took office on 1 April 2016...
formally presented its application to re-join to Secretary-General PatriciaScotland on 22 January 2018. Boris Johnson, who became the first British foreign...
Commonwealth secretary-general PatriciaScotland a second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 31 January 2022, Kagame and Scotland announced that the CHOGM...
of the Commonwealth (Charles III) Secretariat Secretary-General (PatriciaScotland) Deputy Secretaries-General Marlborough House Commonwealth Youth Programme...
Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films...
and Wales was a member of the House of Lords; the most recent was PatriciaScotland. The House of Lords remains a source for junior ministers and members...
First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (which favours Scottish independence), stated an independent Scotland "would still share...
of the Commonwealth (Charles III) Secretariat Secretary-General (PatriciaScotland) Deputy Secretaries-General Marlborough House Commonwealth Youth Programme...
multi-sport athlete and coach Patricia Lemoine (born 1961), French politician Patricia Littlechild (born 1965), Scottish sport shooter and neurosurgeon...
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge DBE (/ˈraʊtlɪdʒ/ ROWT-lij; born 17 February 1929) is an English stage, television and film actress, and singer. She is...
Shipbuilding, Scotland-built west Pacific coast steam turbine passenger ships, Princess Patricia was named in 1949 for Princess Patricia of Connaught....
Black Mayor of London in 1772. Following the election of Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour Party leader in February 2021, he was described as the first person...
institutions participated in the event. Secretary of Commonwealth, Rt Hon PatriciaScotland, graced the occasion with her presence and awarded Shri Mr Kamlesh...
Patricia Dainton (born Margaret Bryden Pate; 12 April 1930 – 31 May 2023) was a British actress who appeared in a number of films and television roles...
they were stepping down, while Meg Hillier, Ann McKechin and Baroness Scotland also left the Shadow Cabinet. Veteran MPs Tom Watson, Jon Trickett, Stephen...
Hichilema in prison. Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Baroness PatriciaScotland visited Hichilema in prison twice. While Hichilema was in jail, President...
are the four constituent Home Nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), six of the British Overseas Territories (Anguilla...
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