The Lord Speaker and other Members of the House of Lords represent the House at a wide range of events, sharing their expertise and seeking to broaden understanding about the work and role of the House.
Meeting and engaging with their counterparts abroad enables Members to exchange knowledge and learn from other parliamentarians, and plays an important role in fostering relationships that support and strengthen parliamentary ties.
Over the past 12 months this has included work, undertaken by the previous Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, and Members of the Lords, to support the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPA) and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). The previous Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman also met with counterparts from Ukraine, Pakistan, Bahrain, Portugal, Japan and Thailand. The current Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza, was elected in July 2011 and took up post on 1 September.
Among the Lord Speaker's ceremonial responsibilities is speaking on behalf of the House of Lords on State occasions. The previous Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, represented the Lords giving an to Pope Benedict XVI following his speech in Westminster Hall during the papal visit to the UK in September 2010 and, most recently, a address of thanks following Barack Obama's historic speech to Members of both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall on 25 May 2011.
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