Baroness Valerie Amos joined as Director of SOAS, University of London in September 2015. From 2010, Valerie served as Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the UN. She served in a number of roles in the public sector including in local government and as Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
Valerie was an adviser to the Mandela Government on leadership and change management issues and was appointed a Labour Life Peer in 1997.
She went on to become the first black woman to sit in the British cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development. Valerie became Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council in October 2003 and served as UK High Commissioner to Australia before joining the UN.
1) What is your current position?
Director, SOAS, University of London.
2) What are your proudest achievements?
Making the case for people who have been left out and didn’t have a space in which to voice their needs. For example, people facing hunger and fleeing brutality and abuse.
3) What inspires you?
Seeing the incredible things people do to support each other. I saw a lot of this in my last job when I was running humanitarian affairs for the UN. People with very little, prepared to share it.
4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?
I don’t believe in obstacles. I see setbacks as an opportunity to grow and learn.
5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
A number of people have influenced me. My parents in particular, believed in all their children and told us that we could achieve anything if we worked hard enough. And a huge number of people through the years who have supported me, given me advice and sustained me. They have all helped shape who I am.
6) What is the best aspect of your current role?
Being in an environment with lots of young people. I like the energy and vitality and unconventional ways of looking at issues.
7) And the worst?
An increasingly competitive higher education environment where it is becoming more difficult to engage in collaborative working which can be a key part of effective scholarship.
8) What are your long term goals?
In this role, I would like to see a SOAS which is the best in the world in research and teaching on Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
A Britain which is able to truly embrace its global role and is not fearful of difference and diversity.
10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
Sojourner Truth. The African American women's and human rights activist and abolitionist. She escaped slavery. She challenged the system in court and won. And she spoke at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851 in a speech that's been labelled 'Ain't I a Woman' and is often quoted. She was remarkable!
