IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 495 

Honoring the life and achievements of Dame Lois Browne Evans, Bermuda’s 

first female barrister, Attorney General, and Opposition Leader in the 

British Commonwealth. 

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; 


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•HRES 495 IH 

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; 


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•HRES 495 IH 

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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) expresses its profound sympathy to the fam3 ily of Dame Lois Browne Evans and the citizens of 

4 Bermuda over the passing of Dame Lois Browne 

5 Evans; and 

6 (2) commends the exemplary lifetime achieve7 ments of Dame Lois Browne Evans, her commit8 ment to public service, and the singular role she 

9 played as a true pioneer who forged the way ahead 

10 for women and minorities. 

Æ 


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