Diljit Singh Rana, Baron Rana, (born 20 September 1938), is a British businessman and a former member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Having originally been a

crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

er, he took the

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whip in 2016. He was married to Shruti, Lady Rana. On 16 June 2004, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Rana, of Malone in the

County of Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Life

He was born in Sanghol,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and is the oldest sibling of three brothers and two sisters. Lord Rana left

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in 1963 for England, but now has been a resident of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

since 1966. He had to repair his property portfolio over 25 times during

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

in Northern Ireland because of bombings and arson attacks. "Being an Indian I should not have had any loyalty to Northern Ireland; I stayed there despite the problem," said Lord Rana. Today, he is a successful property developer, hotelier and president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is founder and director of Andras House, regarded as Northern Ireland's leading hotel chain, owning the franchises for

Crowne Plaza Crowne Plaza by IHG is a multinational chain of full service, upscale hotels headquartered in the United Kingdom. It caters to the business, leisure and blended travel market usually located in city centers, resorts, coastal towns or near major a ...

Hampton by Hilton Hampton by Hilton, formerly (and still commonly called) Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscale limited serv ...

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

Holiday Inn Express Holiday Inn Express by IHG is an American-based mid-priced hotel chain within the IHG Hotels & Resorts family of brands. Originally founded as an "express" hotel, their focus is on offering Hotel#Economy_and_limited_service, limited services at ...

and

Ibis The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

as well as operating their own branded businesses. He is a leading figure in the Indian community in Northern Ireland. He is India's honorary consul in Belfast. Lord Rana claims to promote business links between India and Northern Ireland and has been elected president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce. He led a trade mission of 13 companies to India to explore business opportunities for Northern Ireland companies.

Honours, awards and philanthropy

Rana was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

1996 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

, for his contribution to the economic regeneration of the city of Belfast. Rana has set up a charitable trust of Rs. 50 million for a school and a college named Taxila, in his native village Sanghol, near Chandigarh, India. The new college has collaborative links with the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

in Northern Ireland. The university conferred an honorary doctorate on Rana who led a delegation of academics from the university to India to explore educational partnerships and help develop university links between India and Northern Ireland. Rana also received an Honorary Doctorate from Bengal Engineering and Science University in West Bengal in November 2008. He is the founder of the Lord Rana Foundation Charitable Trust UK, which has developed a university campus in Punjab offering courses in arts, humanities, IT, business, management and hospitality. 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to business and the economy in Northern Ireland.

Disputes

A dispute has continued for many years over the redevelopment plans of the Tillie & Henderson factory site in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, this site is owned by Dijit Rana. The site was previously a shirt factory of historic importance but was damaged in multiple arson attacks including major ones in 2001, and 2002, and was subsequently demolished without permission in 2003. A budget hotel originally envisioned for the site was still at the planning stage in 2009. Rana stated in April 2009 that his designers "we're trying to get things right this time", and communication was ongoing with the

Northern Ireland Environment Agency The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an executive agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). It is responsible for conservation of Northern Ireland's environment and natural heritage. Ori ...

, and he hoped that "there will be a general welcome for our plans in what is a prime location in the city". Rana was forced to comply with an Urgent Works Notice in 2003 from the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. It obliged him to carry out immediate repairs to Cairndhu House, near

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

. Rana was advised that the building would be taken from him if he did not comply with the works notice. Rana himself states that he has protected a lot of heritage buildings in Belfast, including: * The Oxford Street Church * Andras House (built in 1889) * The Lincoln Building * Renshaws Hotel.

Personal life

In 2012 he was cleared of the allegation that he had assaulted his estranged wife.

Arms

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Diljit Rana, Baron 1938 births Living people Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission Conservative Party (UK) life peers Crossbench life peers Indian emigrants to England Indian emigrants to Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Northern Ireland of Punjabi descent Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Life peers created by Elizabeth II Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 20th-century British businesspeople 21st-century British businesspeople 21st-century British politicians