Rosalind Patricia-Anne Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids COG (born 10 January 1931) is a British Labour politician, who formerly served as member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. Having been awarded an OBE in the 1994

New Year's Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, she was made a Life peer as Baroness Howells of St Davids, of Charlton in the

London Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on 21 July 1999. The name St Davids refers to the parish in Grenada where she was brought up, to the south-east of the island. She retired from the House of Lords on 10 January 2019.

Life and career

Howells was educated at St Joseph's College, Reading, South West London College and the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1955, she married John Charles Howells and they have two daughters. Howells served as the Director of the

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

Racial Equality Council as well as a Community and Equal Opportunities Worker. Baroness Howells is a trustee of the

Stephen Lawrence Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

Charitable Trust, and served as the unofficial advisor to the Lawrence family. Howells was the first black woman to sit on the GLC's Training Board; the first female member of the Court of Governors of the University of Greenwich and was the Vice Chair at the London Voluntary Service Council. She has worked with the Carnival Liaison Committee, the Greater London Action in Race Equality, and has been an active campaigner for justice in the field of race relations. She is a Trustee of the Jason Roberts Foundation, which aims to provide a range of sporting opportunities for children and young people in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and Grenada. In March 2009 she was inaugurated as the Chancellor of the

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

. Baroness Howells is a trustee of St George's University's UK Trust and serves on the board of the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean Sea No ...

Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF), the research institute affiliated with St. George's University.St George’s University.
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References

External links

House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 25 October 1999.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howells, Rosalind Baroness Howells of St Davids 1931 births Living people Howells of St Davids, Rosalind Howells, Baron Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Officers of the Order of the British Empire Grenadian emigrants to England Black British women politicians People associated with the University of Bedfordshire