PATRICIA JANET SCOTLAND, BARONESS SCOTLAND OF ASTHAL, QC
Patricia Janet Scotland was born in Dominica in 1956 to Antiguan and Dominican parents. Her family joined the great migration from Dominica to the United Kingdom, where, in 1959, she arrived at age three with her parents and ten siblings. She attended London University and distinguished herself academically, earning her law degree in1976 at the age of 20. She was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1977, specializing in family and children's law. Her professional interests also span social justice law, international affairs, mental health and housing, immigration and asylum, and the development of Civil Law in the United Kingdom. In 1991, Patricia Scotland made British legal history, becoming the first black female QC (Queens Counsel) at the age of 35, the youngest person appointed QC in Britain since William Pitt the Younger (1759 - 1806).
After a glittering legal career, she became a bencher - member of the governing body - of the Middle Temple in 1997; and later that year she was made Baroness of Asthal in the County of Oxfordshire. In 1999 she became a judge. That same year she was called to service in politics by her friend and confidant, the then Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair, being appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In 2001, she was raised to the Privy Counsel, 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 Lord Chancellor's Department. She 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 the Baroness, becoming the first black female British government minister, and a clear indication of the high regard of her peers. She 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, Lady 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 organizations, 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, the National Consumer Counsel, the Telephone Services Standards Board, and the Mentally Disordered Offenders Committee. She is a member of the Lawyers - Christian Fellowship, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Breast Cancer, the Labor 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, among others.
Reflecting her love for her country of birth, she has never forgotten her Caribbean roots. She has 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. She has received numerous awards and commendations, including an honorary degree from the University of Westminster for her services to law. She is married to Richard Mawhinney and has two sons.
For her distinguished service to the Law, Politics and her Community, DAAS honors this exceptional woman, Baroness Scotland of Asthal.
Contributed by
Thomson Fontaine
August 2007
See also:
100 Great Black Britons
Caribbean Net News
