110 HRES 495 IH: Honoring the life and achievements of Dame U.S. House of Representatives 2007-06-18 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 495 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 18, 2007 Ms. Watson (for herself and Mr. Butterfield) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Honoring the life and achievements of Dame Lois Browne Evans, Bermuda’s first female barrister, Attorney General, and Opposition Leader in the British Commonwealth.

Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was born in 1927, in Bermuda, and attended the Central School and Middle Temple at London’s Inns of Court, in the United Kingdom; Whereas at the age of 26, Dame Lois Browne Evans was called to the London Bar, in June 1952, and the following December called to the Bermuda Bar and opened her own practice; Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans became Bermuda’s first female lawyer and went on to a distinguished career as a leading counsel; Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was a life-long advocate for the rights of workers and black Bermudians and a prominent member of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP); Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was elected to Parliament in 1963 and became the first black female to serve in Parliament; Whereas in 1968, in Bermuda’s first general election in which all adults were entitled to vote, Dame Lois Browne Evans was elected the PLP’s Parliamentary Leader and became the first female Opposition Leader in the British Commonwealth; Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans held the position of Opposition Leader until 1972 and, in 1973, became Jamaica’s Honorary Counsel in Bermuda, the first Bermudian to serve in this capacity; Whereas in 1976 Dame Lois Browne Evans was again elected to Parliament and served as the Opposition Leader until 1985; Whereas the PLP won its first election in 1998 and Dame Lois Browne Evans was appointed Minister of Legislative Affairs; Whereas in 1999 Dame Lois Browne Evans became Bermuda’s first elected Attorney General and first female Attorney General; Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was Bermuda’s longest serving Member of Parliament; Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans debated at the historic London and Bermuda Constitutional Conferences and served as a delegate to numerous international conferences in Africa, New Zealand, the United States, and the Caribbean; Whereas Dame Lois Brown Evans was a member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers and a founding member of the Bermuda Business and Professional Women’s Club; Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans led an exceptional life in which she played a major role in the racial integration of Bermuda and advanced the cause of civil, human, and minority rights in Bermuda and throughout the world; and Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans passed away on May 29, 2007, at the age of 79 years: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)expresses its profound sympathy to the family of Dame Lois Browne Evans and the citizens of Bermuda over the passing of Dame Lois Browne Evans; and (2)commends the exemplary lifetime achievements of Dame Lois Browne Evans, her commitment to public service, and the singular role she played as a true pioneer who forged the way ahead for women and minorities.