THE HON. PAULA A. COX, JP, MP

The Hon. Paula A. Cox, JP, MP, who will speak at the UCCI conference on the "Bermuda Success Story," was in October 2010 elected as Leader of the Progressive Labour Party and appointed Premier of Bermuda.

Premier Cox was first elected to Parliament in 1996, then in her 30’s, becoming one of the youngest members of the House of Assembly. In her subsequent fourteen years as a law-maker for the governing Progressive Labour Party, Premier Cox has garnered wide-ranging experience in governance having held a number of Cabinet portfolios.

In November 1998, Premier 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.

In November 2001 Premier Cox was appointed the Minister of Education and Development. Following the July 2003 general election, the Premier was appointed as both the Attorney-General and Minister of Education and Development.

She assumed the Finance portfolio exclusively in January 2004, succeeding her late father, the Hon. C. Eugene Cox, CBE, JP, MP, and retains the Treasury portion of that portfolio as part of her present Cabinet responsibilities.

Ms Cox earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from McGill University in Canada, and a post-graduate Diploma in International Law from the University of Manchester. She trained as a solicitor at the College of Law, Chancery Lane, 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 (USA) and more recently, in 2009, was made an honorary alumnus of Dalhousie University.

Premier Cox was chosen as Regional Female Leader of the Year in April 2011. Among other achievements, she was formerly a Corporate Counsel at ACE Limited and has been employed as Vice President and Senior Legal Counsel of Global Funds Services at the Bank of Bermuda Limited.

This background, along with her expertise in the field of international law and international business, has allowed her to give the PLP Government a strong voice in international financial matters. She has gained respect as an articulate lawyer, administrator and politician.

Premier Cox is married to Mr. Germain Nkeuleu and they share a son, Stephane.