Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon (born 3 April 1968), is a British-Pakistani businessman and a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

. He was appointed Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations, and later for

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

; then Central Asia, and then for

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

on 13 June 2017.

Early years

Born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, to Punjabi-speaking immigrant parents from Pakistan, Tariq Ahmad was educated at

Rutlish School Rutlish School is a state comprehensive school for boys, formerly a grammar school with the same name originally located on Rutlish Road, Merton Park, and relocated in 1957 on nearby Watery Lane, Merton Park, in southwest London. History The sc ...

Merton Park Merton Park is a suburb in the London Borough of Merton. It is situated between Colliers Wood, Morden, South Wimbledon and Raynes Park. It is 11 miles (11.7 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is part of the historic parish of Merton ...

, southwest London.

Career

In 1991, he entered

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

's Graduate Management programme, eventually working as Head of Marketing, Sponsorship and Branding and in 2000 went to work for

AllianceBernstein AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) is a global asset management firm providing investment management and research services worldwide to institutional, high-net-worth and retail investors. AllianceBernstein's headquarters are located in Nashvill ...

.Official website, About
Official website, Professional
In 2004, he joined

Sucden Financial Sucden (Sucres et Denrées) is a French-based commodity broker of soft commodities and other financial products headquartered in Paris. The firm started as a sugar broker and is now amongst the world leaders with a market share of around 15% i ...

, where he served on the Executive Committee and as Director of Marketing, Strategy and Research. He is an Associate of the Institute of Financial Services and a member of the

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...

. From 1999 to 2008 he served as vice-president of AMYA, a British Muslim youth organisation.Official website, Community
From 2001 to 2006, he served as a governor of Wimbledon Park Primary school. He joined the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in 1994.Tariq introduced to House of Lords
In 2002, he was elected a Councillor in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. He contested Croydon North for the Conservatives in 2005. From 2008 to 2010, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party. He is a part of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

, and was a national vice-president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association's youth organisation from 2003.

Parliamentary career

On 13 January 2011, he was made a

, and was created Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon, of

in the

London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton () is a borough in Southwest London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton ...

. He formally joined the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

on 17 January. In 2014, Ahmad was promoted to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at

DCLG The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...

. After the 2015 general election, he was appointed jointly as Minister for Skills and Aviation Security at the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

and Minister for Countering Extremism at the Home Office. In 2016, he was appointed Minister for Aviation, International Trade and Europe at the

in the

first May ministry Theresa May formed the first May ministry in the United Kingdom on 13 July 2016, after having been invited by Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration. Then the Home Secretary, May's appointment followed the resignation of ...

. After the 2017 general election, Ahmad was appointed

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

at the

with responsibilities to the Commonwealth, the United Nations, and the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and later South Asia, and then South and Central Asia. He also gained ministerial responsibilities for

from

James Cleverly James Spencer Cleverly (born 4 September 1969) is a British politician and Army Reserve officer who has served as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been ...

in February 2022.

Arms

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Tariq 1968 births British Ahmadis British politicians of Pakistani descent Conservative Party (UK) life peers English people of Pakistani descent Living people People educated at Rutlish School Life peers created by Elizabeth II