Verla A. De Peiza (born 7 October 1971) is a Barbadian politician and lawyer. She was the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 12 August 2018 to 21 January 2022, and was the first woman to hold this position. She also previously served as a Senator for the DLP from 2010 to 2018.

Early life

Verla De Peiza was born on 7 October 1971 in the parish of Saint James, Barbados. She studied at Erdiston Primary School and Harrison College, winning a Barbados Exhibition university scholarship in 1991. She attended the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, graduating with a 2:1

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in the fields of Politics and Law. She then entered

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

and completed a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

with Merit, specialising in Criminology and Criminal Justice. In 1996, De Peiza became qualified to practise law in England and Wales. Upon returning to Barbados, she joined the law firm Charlton Chambers and was called to the bar in 2000.

Political career

In 1996, De Peiza joined the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). In the 2008 general election, she was nominated as one of the DLP's campaign managers. In 2010, De Peiza was appointed as a Senator, then reappointed after the 2013 Barbadian general election. She served until 2018. In the 2018 general election, she ran in the Christ Church West constituency, a Barbados Labour Party stronghold, but was unsuccessful . On 12 August 2018, she was elected unopposed as the new DLP president after former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

and DLP president Freundel Stuart stepped down, making her the party's first female leader. In August 2021, she was challenged by fellow DLP member Guy Hewitt for the party leadership, but prevailed in an internal vote. After losing the

2022 Barbadian general election General elections were held in Barbados on 19 January 2022 to elect the 30 members of the House of Assembly. The ruling Barbados Labour Party won all 30 seats for the second consecutive election. This was the 12th national election held since i ...

which resulted in the DLP not regaining any seats in 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 ...

, she resigned on 21 January 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Peiza, Verla Leaders of the Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) 1971 births Living people Members of the Senate of Barbados Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Barbadian lawyers Barbadian women lawyers 21st-century Barbadian women politicians 21st-century Barbadian politicians People from Saint James, Barbados