Mohammed Ajeeb

CBE 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 ...

(born 1938) is a former Lord Mayor of

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, and was the first Asian (Kashmiri) Lord Mayor in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Biography

Mohammed Ajeeb was born in Mirpur,

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

in 1938. Ajeeb attended Dadyal High School and then studied at a local college in the district and went on to study at

Karachi University The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whi ...

. Ajeeb moved to Britain in 1957, and settled in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, working first in a soap factory, and then in public transport. He was also a housing officer with the District Community Relations Committee. In 1973 he was appointed Assistant Director of ''SHARE'' (Shelter Housing and Reneval Experiment, in Bradford and went on to become the director in 1976. After joining the Labour Party in 1974, Ajeeb became Chairman of the Bradford Community Relations Council in 1977 and was elected to Bradford Metropolitan District Council in 1979. In 1984 he was elected Chairman of the Labour Group on the council and became Lord Mayor in 1985–86. In 2001 Ajeeb was awarded the

in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

Controversy

Ajeeb has been criticised for causing the sacking of headmaster

Ray Honeyford Raymond Honeyford (24 February 1934, in Manchester – 5 February 2012) was a British head teacher, writer, and critic of the failures of multiculturalism. In the early 1980s, when he was headmaster of Drummond Middle School in Bradford, Yorkshi ...

, who in 1984 wrote an article in ''

The Salisbury Review ''The Salisbury Review'' is a quarterly British magazine of conservative thought. It was founded in 1982 by the Salisbury Group, who sought to articulate and further traditional intellectual conservative ideas. The ''Review'' was named after Robe ...

'', arguing that multiculturalism was damaging the Pakistani children whom he taught.

References

* 1938 births Living people British people of Mirpuri descent Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Councillors in Bradford University of Karachi alumni Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Mirpur, Azad Kashmir Mayors of Bradford {{England-mayor-stub