Amos, Valerie (1954- )

British Labour politician, leader of the House of Lords and president of the Council from October 2003. She became the UK's first female black cabinet member in May 2003 when she was appointed international development secretary after the resignation of Clare Short.

Born in Guyana, she grew up on the island of Wakenaam and emigrated with her parents to England in 1963. After studies at the universities of Warwick, Birmingham, and East Anglia, she became a specialist in equal opportunities, training, and management services in local government in London, and chief executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission 1989-94. She has also been an adviser to the South African government on public service reform and human rights. She was created a life peer in 1997.