Valerie Amos

Valerie Amos (born March 13, 1954, British Guiana [now Guyana]) is a British politician, the first woman of African descent to serve in a British cabinet and as leader of the House of Lords (2003–07).

Amos was educated at Townley Grammar School for Girls and received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Warwick (1976) and a master’s degree in cultural studies from the University of Birmingham (1977). She worked initially for local governments in London and then from 1989 to 1994 headed the Equal Opportunities Commission. In August 1997 she was made a life peer by the new Labour Party government of Tony Blair. As a member of the House of Lords, Amos served as the government spokesperson for social security, international development, women’s issues, and foreign and Commonwealth affairs. In May 2003 she was appointed international development secretary, thus becoming the first Black woman to serve in a British cabinet. Following the death of Lord Williams of Mostyn in September 2003, Amos was named leader of the House of Lords, a post she held until 2007. She later served as British high commissioner to Australia (2009–10) and as head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2010–15). She became director of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London in 2015. She left in 2020 to become master at University College, Oxford; she was the first woman to hold the post and the first Black person to head a college at the University of Oxford.