Luthfur Rahman ( bn, লুথফুর রহমান; born October 1976) is a British Labour Party

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, serving as the deputy leader of

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

since 2021. In May

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he became the first person of

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

origin to be elected a Councillor on Manchester City Council.

Early life

Rahman was born into a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

family from Shathal in

Patli Patli is a moderate sized village situated from Talwandi Bhai in Firozpur district of Punjab, India. References External links Patliat WikiMapia Wikimapia is a geographic online encyclopedia project. The project implements an interacti ...

, Jagannathpur in the

Sunamganj District Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a district located in north-eastern Bangladesh within the Sylhet Division. History In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Laur Kingdom. After the conquest of Sylhet (Kingdom of Gauiurh) ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. He is the eldest son of Surabur Rahman, best known as the president of the Greater Manchester

Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people. The adjective appears in the following proper names: *Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan *Awami Front, wa ...

and former chairman of the Shahjalal Mosque and Islamic Centre in Manchester, who migrated to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1968 and settled in

Longsight Longsight is an inner city suburb of Manchester, England, located south of the city centre. It is bounded by Ardwick and West Gorton to the north; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park and Fallowfield to the west. ...

. In 1980 at the age of three Luthfur along with his mother and his siblings joined his father in the UK. He attended local schools St Agnes Primary School and

Burnage High School Burnage Academy for Boys, formerly known as Burnage High School for Boys, is a secondary school with academy status, located in Burnage, Manchester, England. History Grammar school The school was founded in September 1932 as Burnage High Schoo ...

. He would later return to St Agnes Primary School as a

School governor In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions: *Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction *Holding the headteacher to account for the ...

and to Burnage High School

mentoring Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

for

Mosaic Network The Mosaic Network is a charitable initiative founded by Charles, Prince of Wales in 2007 as part of 'The Prince's Programmes' at his charity "Business in the Community". The catalyst was a memorandum from The Prince of Wales to Julia Cleverdon, wh ...

. Rahman started his working life in the restaurant trade, working his way up from a waiter to a chef and then manager. At the age of 17, he left

Stockport College Stockport College is a medium-sized educational institute in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, providing further education and higher education to those aged 16 and over. It provides educational opportunities for the community including; s ...

and opened his own restaurant in

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census. History Toponymy Wilmslow derives its name from Old ...

. Over the next 22 years, he continued working in the catering trade establishing several different successful restaurants and takeaways. He is a qualified

financial adviser A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

and has also worked as an

intermediary An intermediary (or go-between) is a third party that offers intermediation services between two parties, which involves conveying messages between principals in a dispute, preventing direct contact and potential escalation of the issue. In law ...

Career

Rahman was first elected to

taking the seat from the Liberal Democrats with a swing of over 30 per cent gaining a majority of 1147. He was re-elected in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

doubling his majority. In 2010 Rahman was elected by fellow Councillors to be the lead member for the race and equality portfolio at Manchester City Council. Rahman is Chair of the

Young Foundation The Young Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental think tank based in London that specialises in social innovation to tackle structural inequality. It is named after Michael Young, the British sociologist and social activist who created o ...

’s Uprising programme in Greater Manchester which he brought to North West England. Rahman was the first Councillor on Manchester City Council to call for the introduction of the

living wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

in Manchester.

Recognition

In 2011 Rahman was awarded the Community Champion of the Year at the

Local Government Information Unit The Local Government information Unit (LGiU) is a local government membership body, thinktank and registered charity. Established in 1983 as a membership organisation for UK local authorities, the LGiU states that its mission is to strengthen loca ...

Councillor Awards. The Local Government Information Unit described Rahman as having

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

have said of Rahman He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to local government.

References

External links

* *
Manchester City Council Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Luthfur 1976 births Living people 21st-century British politicians Politicians from Manchester Labour Party (UK) councillors Councillors in Manchester Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Longsight English politicians English Muslims English Sunni Muslims Bangladeshi Muslims Bangladeshi emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom English people of Bangladeshi descent People from Patli Union

Early life

Career

Recognition

See also

References

External links