Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed (b. 1958) is a Labour member of the House of Lords.
He was in 1998 made Britain's first Muslim peer, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Ahmed, of Rotherham in the County of South Yorkshire.
Ahmed was born in Mirpur (Azad Kashmir) but was brought up in the UK. He studied Public Administration at Sheffield University and joined the Labour Party when he was 18 years old.
He distinguished himself as a particularly proactive local councillor, with most of his activity centred around the North of England. He recognised the significance of grass roots politics and founded the British Muslim Councillors’ Forum in 1992. Ahmed was also made a Justice of the Peace in the same year and chaired the South Yorkshire Labour Party for some years.
He is also a businessman, starting as a grocer and eventually rising to become a business and property developer.
In 1998 Ahmed was appointed to the House of Lords and took his oath on the Qur'an. He was also one of the youngest peers to achieve this position at the age of 40. As a Muslim peer, much of his activities relate to the Muslim community, both at home and internationally. Ahmed led one of the first delegations on behalf of the British Government on the Muslim pilgrimage of the Hajj, to Saudi Arabia and has advocated legislation against religious discrimination, international terrorism and forced marriages.
At home, Ahmed speaks on wider equality issues, and has spoken several times on issues of race, religion and gender. He is seen as one of the leaders of the Muslim community and has tried to calm tensions following the aftermath of September 11.
As a resident of Rotherham, Ahmed has spoken on behalf of the communities in that region, particularly the families of the former steelworkers of the 1960s, from the Indian subcontinent who are now second or third generation British. He has expressed that he is anxious to see that these regions continue to live peacefully amidst the growing move towards the far-right across Europe, and strives to encourage positive integration into society so that people of all cultures can live together harmoniously.
Born in the region, Ahmed has a personal interest in seeing a peaceful resolve to the ongoing bloody dispute in Kashmir and seeks international mediation to achieve this. As well as being an active figure in the Indian Subcontinent, he has worked on the plight of Muslims around the world ranging from the collapse of former Yugoslavia, to the Chechens and Palestinians. He has been on many delegations to the Arab world, the US, Eastern Europe, Africa, the former states of the USSR and the Far East, meeting with heads of state to discuss their respective problems and how he may be able to assist them.
Ahmed helps with various charitable causes and is on the board of several organisations from local groups such as his position as President of South Yorkshire Victim Support , to international bodies such as his board membership on the SAARC Foundation.
Ahmed has three children and one grandchild and continues to live in Rotherham.
Last updated: 06-06-2005 04:31:39