THE BIG LEAGUE

Patricia Scotland, KC, The Rt Hon Baroness Scotland of Asthal, was elected to two consecutive terms as the Sixth Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations. She served the 54 governments and 2.4 billion people of the Commonwealth and managed the Commonwealth Secretariat and budgets in excess of £20 billion.

Prior to her tenure as Secretary General, Baroness Scotland was appointed Attorney General to the United Kingdom. In that capacity, she served as lead advisory counsel to HRH The Queen and Parliament, the legal representative of the UK Government, and the lead prosecutor, guardian of the public interest and rule of law in the Commonwealth. Baroness Scotland oversaw the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office initiating major reform of the criminal justice system.

Baroness Scotland was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where she was responsible for diplomatic relations between the UK and North America, the Caribbean, Overseas Territories, the Consular Division, British Counsel, and all parliamentary business in the House of Lords. She joined the House of Lords in 1997 as Baroness Scotland of Asthal going on to serve as a minister in the Foreign Office, Home Office and Lord Chancellor’s Department.

Baroness Scotland was appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to South Africa, responsible for promoting and strengthening business and trade interests between the UK and South Africa.  Trained as a barrister, Baroness Scotland was Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1977 and became the first Black woman and youngest woman ever to be appointed Queens Counsel (QC) in 1991. She was also the first Black woman to be appointed Deputy High Court Judge, Recorder, and Bencher of Middle Temple.

Baroness Scotland's leadership was transformative for the governments of the Commonwealth as she effectuated systemic data-driven reform across foundational institutions.  Baroness Scotland has spearheaded global climate action. She led the Commonwealth in promoting sustainable ocean governance through the Commonwealth Blue Charter, an unprecedented commitment by Commonwealth countries toward cooperative ocean governance. She led the initiative to adopt the Living Lands Charter, which commits all 56 member countries to safeguard global land resources and take coordinated action on climate change.

Baroness Scotland has received numerous commendations and awards for her work promoting the economic progress and environmental interests of commonwealth countries. She is the only person ever to earn all four major parliamentary awards, and she is the youngest recipient of the SILK award and the first Black woman to win that award. She has over twenty honorary law degrees from prestigious Universities including, Cambridge University, Oxford University, and University of Edinburgh. Baroness Scotland received the Global Leadership Award for Innovation from University of California at Berkeley recognizing her transformational impact to global institutions through the innovative use of technology. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Cambridge University and was named the Number 1 Most Powerful Black Woman in the World.