Navnit Dholakia, Baron Dholakia, (born 4 March 1937), is a British

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

politician and a deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in 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 ...

Education

Navnit Dholakia was born in Tanzania on 4 March 1937 to Permananddas Mulji Dholakia and Shantabai Permananddas Dholakia. He was educated in Tanzania and India, studying at the Home School and Institute of Science in

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city and the headquarters of Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Gohil. It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state before it was merged into the Dominion ...

, Gujarat. Dholakia came to Britain to study at Brighton Technical College, taking his first job as a

medical laboratory A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are conducted out on clinical specimens to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Clinical medical labor ...

technician at Southlands Hospital in

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in the Adur District, Adur district, in the county of West Sussex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 20,547. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to ...

Political career

He became active in the

Liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and was elected to Brighton Borough Council between 1961 and 1964. From 1976 he served as member of the

Commission for Racial Equality In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

and has been involved in the

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

Police Authority, Police Complaints Authority and

Howard League for Penal Reform The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921 ...

. He is the current chair of Nacro, and also chairs its Race Issues Advisory Committee. Dholakia 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 Dholakia, of Waltham Brooks in the County of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

'', on 24 October 1997, and sits on the Liberal Democrat benches in the

. From 1997 to 2002 he served as a Liberal Democrat

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

in the House, and from 2002 to 2004 he was the Home Affairs Spokesman. He was elected

President of the Liberal Democrats The president of the Liberal Democrats chairs the Federal Board of the Liberal Democrats of the United Kingdom. The responsibilities of the president are similar to that of chairman of the Conservative Party or chairman of the Labour Party, al ...

at the end of 1999 and served in the post from 2000 to 2004. In November 2004 he was elected a joint deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, and became the party's sole deputy leader in the Lords in 2010. Dholakia is involved with a range of charities including being a Patron of the British branch of Child In Need India (CINI UK).

Honours

In the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

, Dholakia was made an

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) for services to race relations. In 2000 he was named "Asian of the Year", and won the Pride of India Award in 2005. In November 2009 he was given an honorary doctorate from the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a Universities in the United Kingdom, university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield ...

. He was a deputy lieutenant (DL) in the county of

from 1999 to 2012. Dholakia was appointed to the Privy Council (PC) in December 2010.

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

conferred

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Award) is the highest Indian award for Overseas Indians or an organisation or institution established and run by Overseas Indian diaspora, constituted by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Go ...

Dholakia in 2003.

Personal life

He has been married to Lady Dholakia,

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Ann McLuskie, since 1967. They have two daughters and live in

. He is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

of Gujarati origin.

Sources

Lord Dholakia
biography at the site of Liberal Democrats
UK Hindu youths' quest to find roots
Times of India - 26 July 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dholakia, Navnit 1937 births Indian peers British Hindus Commissioners for Racial Equality Deputy lieutenants of West Sussex Dholakia, Navnit Dholakia, Baron Life peers created by Elizabeth II Liberal Party (UK) councillors Councillors in East Sussex Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the Liberal Democrats (UK) Tanzanian emigrants to the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British people of Indo-Tanzanian descent British people of Indian descent British people of Gujarati descent Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman English justices of the peace