Baroness Amos, Director of SOAS, University of London

Baroness Valerie Amos is a British politician and the first woman of African descent to serve in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom in 2003. She later served as a leader of the House of Lords from 2003 to 2007. She served as the eighth UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

In September 2015, she joined as the Director of SOAS, University of London. Amos has had nothing short of an illustrious political career, focusing on international relations and development through various high cabinet positions. She served in a number of roles in the public sector, including in local government and as Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission. She was an advisor to the Mandela Government on leadership, change, management and strategy issues between 1994 and 1998. Amos also served as a Foreign Office Minister, Secretary of State for International Development, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council. In 2010, she won an Honorary Professorship from the University of Stirling — one of many awarded to her — for "outstanding service to our society and her role as a model of leadership and success for women today."