Frances D'Souza became the second Lord Speaker elected by Members of the House of Lords in July 2011 and took office on 1 September. She succeeds Baroness Hayman, who was the first elected Speaker of the House of Lords.
Baroness D'Souza presided over business in the Lords chamber for the first time on 5 September 2011.
In addition to overseeing business in the chamber, Baroness D'Souza's responsibilities as Lord Speaker include chairing the House Committee (the principal supervisory body for the House of Lords administration), representing the Lords on ceremonial occasions and acting as an ambassador for the House – explaining the work and role of the House of Lords to audiences both at home and abroad.
Before taking up the post of Lord Speaker, Baroness D'Souza held the post of Convenor of the Crossbench Peers.
Early career and background
Baroness D'Souza's background and interests include human rights and development issues. A consultant to the REDRESS Trust and trustee of a range of organisations concerned with human rights and development, Baroness D'Souza has, in the past, lived and worked in southern Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
For more than nine years she was executive director of ARTICLE 19, a human rights organisation devoted to promoting freedom of expression. She was also the director of an independent research group focusing on applying systematic evaluation methods to development and emergency aid and collaborated in original research on the economic origins and alleviation of famine.
Baroness D'Souza was an independent research consultant for the UN from 1985 to 1988. She also worked for the Nuffield Institute of Comparative Medicine (1973-77) and Oxford Polytechnic, now Oxford Brookes University (1977-80).
Her academic background is in anthropology; she taught at both the London School of Economics and Oxford Brookes University. Educated at St Mary's School, Princethorpe Baroness D’Souza studied Anthropology at University College London, graduating in 1970, and undertook further study at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) in 1976.