Emran Mian (born 1978), who writes under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Kamran Nazeer, is a

British Pakistani British Pakistanis (; also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are Britons or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent, Pakis ...

author and civil servant.

Life and career

Nazeer was born as Emran Mian in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and was diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

at the age of four. He studied law in Glasgow, but after deciding not to become a lawyer, he then went to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

for his PhD and finally joined the British

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

as a policy adviser in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

. He now lives in London with his French wife. He was Director General for Digital Technologies and Telecoms at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and in July 2025 became the Permanent Secretary of the department. His first book, ''Send In the Idiots: Stories From the Other Side of Autism'', was published in March 2006 under his penname. He is also a frequent contributor to ''

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

'' magazine.

Awards and nominations

Mian 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

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in the

2023 Birthday Honours The 2023 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part ...

for services to regeneration. In January 2014, Mian was nominated for the Civil Servant of the Year award at the

British Muslim Awards The British Muslim Awards are an annual award ceremony that honours the success and achievements of British Muslim individuals, groups and businesses. It was established in 2013. Overview The British Muslim Awards was founded by Oceanic Consult ...

Selected works

*''Send In the Idiots: Stories From the Other Side of Autism'', *"The Curious Case of Exclusionary Reasons", ''Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence'', Volume XV, Number 1 (January 2002) pp. 99–124
"Mandarin intellectuals"
''Prospect'' (July 2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazeer, Kamran 1977 births Living people Writers from Glasgow Scottish people of Pakistani descent Civil servants from Glasgow 21st-century Scottish civil servants British writers of Pakistani descent Autistic writers British writers with disabilities Scottish people with disabilities Companions of the Order of the Bath