POLITICS-BRITAIN: Black Woman in Historic Rise to Cabinet

By Sanjay Suri Reprint | | Print |

Sanjay Suri

LONDON, May 13 2003 (IPS) - As the storm begins to clear over the resignation of former secretary for international development Clare Short, the minorities in Britain are beginning to see the reassuring figure of Lady Amos who has taken her place.

Baroness Amos becomes the first black woman to be appointed to the British cabinet.

Minority leaders were delighted over the appointment in a country that has lagged far behind the U.S. in encouraging black people to reach the political top.

"I am delighted that Baroness Valerie Amos has been appointed International Development Secretary and wish her the best of luck in this new role," said Trevor Phillips, Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality.

"Ethnic minorities continue to be under-represented in many aspects of British politics," he said. "I hope her appointment as the first black female cabinet minister will be an inspiration to young black and Asian voters, many of whom currently feel disengaged from British politics."

Julie Millor, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, a position once held by Baroness Amos, said: "The appointment of the first black woman cabinet minister makes this a historic day. I hope we will see many more black and ethnic minority women following Valerie Amos into every level of politics."

Baroness Amos was a junior minister in the Foreign Office, engaged mostly in speaking for the government in the House of Lords, the upper and relatively powerless chamber of British parliament. From a symbolic presence in the Lords, Baroness Amos moves in to fill a hot seat as the new Secretary for the Department for International Development (DFID).

Baroness Amos will now take over from Clare Short’s programme of supporting development in some of the poorest countries. Her term at the Foreign Office has turned out to be preparation of sorts for her new role. She was in charge of relations with Africa, the Caribbean and the Commonwealth. She was involved in several discussions on development issues with leaders from Africa.

Her position as former adviser to Nelson Mandela has given her a degree of credibility among several African leaders. But she is also seen to be in line with the controversial policies of Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Her appointment comes with a government policy in place to make Africa the centre of development support priorities. Her African connections were put to use when she was asked to visit three African countries – Angola, Cameroon and Guinea – ahead of a United Nations vote on war on Iraq – the resolution that was finally never tabled.

Baroness Amos was also on the frontline of British government efforts among Commonwealth countries to take a strong line against the government in Zimbabwe. Her move was not entirely a success, and to that extent, she also lost some standing among African leaders. She is reported to be fiercely loyal to Blair.

Valerie Ann Amos, 49, was born in Guyana. She came to Britain with her family when she was nine. She has a sociology degree from Warwick University and a Ph.D from the University of East Anglia. She worked on race and equality issues in several London councils, an experience that particularly pleases rights groups. In 1989 she was appointed chief executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Valerie Amos, who is single, was appointed to the House of Lords in 1997 and given the title of Baroness, as Baroness Thatcher was, though for a very different kind of politics.

"I am delighted to be joining DFID," Baroness Amos said in a statement following her appointment. "DFID has an outstanding reputation around the world for its important and pioneering work in international development."

The role of DFID has become significant after the decision to raise development assistance to 0.4 per cent of the GNI (Gross National Income) meant that the budget for the department would be raised by 2.5 billion dollars by 2005-2006.

It has meant a near doubling of the budget from 1997. The total annual budget will grow to about seven billion dollars by 2005-2006. Baroness Amos will now be in charge of how that budget is spent.