After being chosen by leaders of the 53 Commonwealth countries, Baroness Scotland (60), the former Labour minister has been appointed as the new Commonwealth Secretary General. She will take up with post in 2016.
Baroness Scotland, who was Britain's first black woman QC, will be taking over from Kamalesh Sharma, who completed the maximum eight years in office.
In 2009, Baroness Scotland came under a lot of scrutiny as she was accused of employing an illegal immigrant from Tonga as a housekeeper. She was fined £5,000, but the officials had accepted that she was not aware of her employee's status.
Lord Dolar Popat, Conservative Party Whip, has congratulated the Baroness on her new post. “I congratulate my good friend Baroness Scotland on her appointment as the first female commonwealth Secretary General. Patricia [Scotland] is an outstanding Parliamentarian and I cannot think of anyone better to steer and promote the values that the Commonwealth so proudly stands for, such as the protection of human rights and rule of law.”
Lord Popat further stated, “Since joining the House myself, I have campaigned over the last 5 years to take this great institution to another level, including creating a Commonwealth Bank which would help harness and promote the economic potential of the Commonwealth as opposed to the European Union. As it is often said, America is our ally, Europe our neighbours but the Commonwealth is our family- and I am sure Baroness Scotland will do an excellent job in championing this virtue.”
