Patricia Scotland

The Right Honourable

The Baroness Scotland of Asthal

PC KC
The Right Honourable; The Baroness Scotland of Asthal; PC KC
	Official portrait, 2026
6th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
	In office; 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2025
Head	Elizabeth II; Charles III;
Chair	Joseph Muscat (Malta); Theresa May (UK); Boris Johnson (UK); Paul Kagame (Rwanda); Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa (Samoa);
Preceded by	Kamalesh Sharma
Succeeded by	Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey
Attorney General for England and Wales
	In office; 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	The Lord Goldsmith
Succeeded by	Dominic Grieve
Prime Minister
Junior ministerial offices
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
	In office; 12 April 2010 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Dominic Grieve
Attorney General for Northern Ireland
	In office; 28 June 2007 – 12 April 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	The Lord Goldsmith
Succeeded by	John Larkin
Minister of State for Criminal Justice and Offender Management
	In office; 12 June 2003 – 28 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	The Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Succeeded by	The Baroness Browning (2011)
Parliamentary Secretary for Lord Chancellor's Department
	In office; 12 June 2001 – 13 June 2003 Serving with Rosie Winterton, Michael Wills (until May 2002) and Yvette Cooper (from May 2002)
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	The Lord Bach
Succeeded by	The Lord Filkin
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
	In office; 28 July 1999 – 12 June 2001
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	The Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
Succeeded by	Ben Bradshaw; The Baroness Amos;
Leader
Further offices held
Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales
	In office; 11 May 2010 – 7 October 2011
Leader	Harriet Harman (acting); Ed Miliband;
Preceded by	Edward Garnier
Succeeded by	Emily Thornberry
Member of the House of Lords
	Lord Temporal
	Life peerage ; 30 October 1997
Personal details
Born	Patricia Janet Scotland; 19 August 1955 (age 71); Dominica, British Windward Islands
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	University College London; Middle Temple;
Profession	Barrister

Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal PC QC (born 19 August 1955) is an English politician and barrister. She served in ministerial positions within the UK Government, mainly as the Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland. In 2015, she was elected the 6th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations and took office on 1 April 2016. She is the first woman to hold the post.

She is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Dominica.

Notes

↑ Crime Reduction from May to June 2007.

References

↑ "Patricia Scotland". University of London. Retrieved 29 June 2023.^{[permanent dead link]}
↑ "Commonwealth elects first woman secretary general". Times of Malta. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
↑ "CHOGM: Patricia Scotland is first female Commonwealth secretary-general". The Australian. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.

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[1] Crime Reduction from May to June 2007.

[unilondon-2] "Patricia Scotland". University of London. Retrieved 29 June 2023.^{[permanent dead link]}

[sg-3] "Commonwealth elects first woman secretary general". Times of Malta. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.

[oz-4] "CHOGM: Patricia Scotland is first female Commonwealth secretary-general". The Australian. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.

v t e Secretaries-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
Smith Ramphal Anyaoku^† McKinnon Sharma Scotland Botchwey
^† Previously served as Deputy Secretary-General.