Dominica-born Patricia Scotland becomes first woman Secretary-General of the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth of Nations – a 53 member stated organization – on Friday elected Baroness Patricia Scotland of Dominica to its top post of Secretary-General. She becomes the first woman ever to hold the post, which includes representing Commonwealth policy that affects the 33 percent of the world’s population that lives in Commonwealth countries.

She was unveiled as the new Secretary-General at the Commonwealth summit in Malta following a closed-door vote. Baroness Scotland will succeed Kamalesh Sharma of India, whose term will end next April, to become the sixth holder of the position.

“I am incredibly proud to be the first woman to be Commonwealth Secretary-General. I want to put the women’s agenda firmly on the table and work with leaders, governments, local governments and other partners. I invite every Commonwealth citizen to join in making these aspirations a reality,” she said after winning the vote.

“The Commonwealth shares a great deal. It has 33 percent of the world’s population. It has the capacity to bring together people of all religions; concentrate on what joins us. It is a real opportunity to invest and work together. If you work together with people respectfully, you can bring about change. Human rights and development go hand in hand.”

Among her top priorities: “Action to combat any form of abuse against women”.

“One in 3 women in our world suffer from domestic violence. It is the greatest cause of morbidity between women and girls,” she said, adding that there was “a lot of work to do”.

A Secretary-General can now serve a maximum of 2 four-year terms. “I am a hard act to follow but I am sure she can do it,” Sharma said of his replacement.

Scotland has served in many positions within the British government, most notably as the Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland.

At the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, she was elected the 6th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations. In 2001 she had become Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor’s Department and, was made a member of the Privy Council of the UK.

When Labour government exited on May 11 2010, Baroness Scotland became the Shadow Attorney General and was re-appointed to that role by Ed Miliband when he appointed his first Shadow Cabinet in October 2010. She was instrumental in creating Labour’s strategy against Rupert Murdoch. She is currently the president of Chatham House, an independent policy institute based in London.

Source: Agencies