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Paula Ann Cox
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born c. 1964) is a Bermudian politician and former premier of Bermuda. She has been the leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP), since 28 October 2010. In accordance with the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968, she was appointed
Premier of Bermuda The Premier of Bermuda serves as head of government of Bermuda, under appointment by the Governor of Bermuda, in the governor's capacity as representative in Bermuda of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. The position was created b ...
, on Friday, 29 October 2010 by Governor Sir
Richard Gozney Sir Richard Hugh Turton Gozney (born 21 July 1951) is a British career diplomat. He was governor and commander in chief of Bermuda from 12 December 2007 to 18 May 2012 and served as the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man from 27 May 20 ...
. She was succeeded as Premier by
Craig Cannonier Craig Cannonier (born 1963) is a Bermudian politician, who served as Premier of Bermuda from 18 December 2012 until his resignation on 19 May 2014. He has also served as the leader of the One Bermuda Alliance since 10 September 2011. Personal l ...
on 18 December 2012, when she led her party into election defeat, losing her own seat in the process.


Early years

Paula Cox, the only daughter born to Bermudians C. Eugene and Alinda F. Cox, spent her early years living in
Sandys Parish Sandys Parish ( "sands") is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for English aristocrat Sir Edwin Sandys (1561–1629), and hence there is no apostrophe in the name. It is located in the south west of the island chain, occupying the ...
. She attended The Berkeley Institute and
Havergal College Havergal College is an independent day and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitaria ...
. She later earned a Bachelor of Arts in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
in Canada, and a post-graduate diploma in
international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
from the
University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...
. She trained as a solicitor at the College of Law,
Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street situated in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It has formed the western boundary of the City since 1994, having previously been divided between the City of Westminster and the London Boro ...
, London, and was called to the Bermuda Bar in January 1992. She received an honorary doctorate in education at the May 2004 commencement exercise of
Wheelock College Wheelock College (Wheelock) was a private college in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1888 by Lucy Wheelock as Miss Wheelock's Kindergarten Training School, it offered undergraduate and graduate programs that focused on the Arts & Sciences, ...
(USA) and more recently, in 2009, was made an honorary alumnus of Dalhousie University.


Political life

Cox was first elected to Parliament in October 1996 when she won the Devonshire North by-election (Constituency 14). A seat formally held by the then Opposition Leader, Mr. L. Frederick Wade, JP, MP. Then in her mid-30s, Mrs. Cox became one of the youngest members of the
House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...
. Following the General Election in November 1998, Cox was appointed the first PLP Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety. Her management of that portfolio gained her added recognition when she was judged "the most effective politician" in the Best of Bermuda Gold Awards for 2001 by ''The Bermudian'', a prestigious and long-standing magazine in Bermuda. This achievement was then repeated in 2003. On 1 November 2001, Cox was given a new assignment and appointed the Minister of Education and Development and was later that year named in the Bermudians' Best of Bermuda Gold annual listing as the most effective politician for 2001. Following the July 2003 general election, Cox retained her Education portfolio but was additionally appointed Attorney-General following the retirement of the iconic former leader of the BPLP, former member of parliament and former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dame
Lois Browne-Evans Dame Lois Marie Browne-Evans DBE JP (1 June 1927 – 29 May 2007) was a lawyer and political figure in Bermuda. She led the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in opposition before being appointed Bermuda's first female Attorney-General. She first ...
. Cox served in this dual portfolio until January 2004. In 2003, she was again cited in ''The Bermudian''′s Best of Gold's annual listing as the most effective politician. Cox assumed the Finance portfolio exclusively in January 2004, succeeding her late father, the Hon. C. Eugene Cox, CBE, JP, MP. She and her father were unique in Bermuda and party politics in both being Ministers in the first PLP administration and the only serving father-daughter duo in Parliament.


IPOC International Growth Fund affair

On a tip by
Mikhail Fridman Mikhail Maratovich Fridman (also transliterated Mikhail Friedman; russian: Михаил Маратович Фридман; he, מיכאיל פרידמן; born 21 April 1964) is a Ukrainian-born, Russian–Israeli businessman, billionaire, and ...
's
Alfa Group Alfa Group Consortium () is Russian international privately owned investment groups, with interests in oil and gas, commercial and investment banking, asset management, insurance, retail trade, telecommunications, water utilities and special sit ...
, she investigated the financial activities of
Leonid Reiman Leonid Dodojonovich Reiman ( Russian: Леонид Дододжонович Рейман; born 12 July 1957, in Leningrad) is a Russian businessman and government official, former Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of the Russ ...
, his attorney
Jeffrey Galmond Jeffrey Peter Galmond is a Danish Supreme Court lawyer and businessman. He is the owner of the law firm J. P. Galmond & Co. He owned large portions of the holding companies that owned the Russian mobile telecommunications operator Megafon. One of t ...
, and their firms including the $1 billion Bermuda-based IPOC International Growth Fund which was competing against Alfa Group for the former share held by
Leonid Rozhetskin Leonid Borisovich Rozhetskin (russian: Леонид Борисович Рожецкин, born August 4, 1966; disappeared March 16, 2008) was a financier and lawyer who went missing under suspicious circumstances after disappearing from his villag ...
's LV Finance in the Russian telecom giant
Megafon MegaFon (russian: МегаФон), previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator
. In March 2004, she hired two inspectors from the Financial Advisory Services division of
KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
to independently investigate IPOC International Growth Fund for irregularities and report the findings to the Bermund Monetary Authorities (BMA). To influence the outcome of KPMG's findings, Alfa Group's telecom subsidiary Altimo hired the
Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as chairman of the Republican ...
founded BGR public relations firm which then hired a security firm co-founded by
Richard Burt Richard R. Burt (born February 3, 1947) is an American businessman and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Germany and was a chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Prior to his diplomatic career, Burt worked as ...
Due Diligence. In addition to being a board member of Alfa, Richard Burt has a close working relationship with Mikhail Fridman. From spring to October 2005, Due Diligence performed its Project Yucca which infiltrated KPMG's investigation to gain information about the investigation into the IPOC International Growth Fund by impersonating British Secret Services agents.


Cabinet appointments

Premier of Bermuda, October 2010 – December 2012
Minister of Finance, 2004–12
Attorney General, 2003–04
Minister of Education, 2001–04
Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety, 1998–2001 Cox was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the
2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...
for public service in Bermuda.


Corporate life

Paula A. Cox is a corporate lawyer, having served as a lawyer for
ACE Limited An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...
as their Corporate Counsel and previously as Vice-President and Senior Legal Counsel of Global Funds Services at the
Bank of Bermuda The original logo of The Bank of Bermuda before it joined the HSBC Group HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited, previously the Bank of Bermuda Limited, is a financial services company in Bermuda providing retail and corporate banking, investment, custody an ...
Limited.


Personal life

Cox is married to businessman Germain Nkeuleu, with whom she has a son, Stephan. She has two brothers, Jeremy Cox, chief executive officerExecutiveof the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and Robert Cox, an electrical engineer presently working in the United States. Paula Cox is an avid reader of international biographies and collector of African antiquities.


References


External links


Official PLP biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Paula 1964 births Living people Premiers of Bermuda Deputy Premiers of Bermuda Finance Ministers of Bermuda Interior ministers of Bermuda Labour ministers of Bermuda Ministers of Education of Bermuda Women government ministers of Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (Bermuda) politicians McGill University alumni Alumni of the University of Manchester Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Bermudian lawyers People from Sandys Parish Women heads of government of non-sovereign entities Havergal College alumni