Navnit Dholakia, Baron Dholakia (born 4 March 1937) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

Education

Educated in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, Dholakia came to Britain to study at

Brighton Technical College Brighton MET is a large general further education college located in Brighton and Hove, It is now part of the Chichester College Group after Greater Brighton Metropolitan College merged with CCG on 1 August 2021. It has two campus: Central Brigh ...

. He took his first job as

Medical Laboratory Technician 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 la ...

Southlands Hospital Southlands Hospital is a medical facility based in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, England, which serves people living in Shoreham itself as well as Worthing and other towns and villages along the south coast and in the inland areas of West Suss ...

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to its west by the Adur Valley and to its south by the River Adur and Shoreham Beach on ...

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

and was elected to

Brighton Borough Council Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Ag ...

between 1961 and 1964. From 1976 he served as member of the

Commission for Racial Equality The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to address racial discrimination and promote racial equality. The commission was established in 1976, and disbanded in 2007 when ...

and has been involved in the Sussex 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 Nacro is a social justice charity based in England and Wales, established in 1966 from the previous National Association of Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Societies, it became the largest criminal justice-related charity in England and Wales. In th ...

, 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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Dholakia, ''of

Waltham Brooks Waltham Brooks is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Pulborough in West Sussex. It is owned and managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and is part of the Arun Valley Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. This is on ...

in the County of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

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

. From 1997 to 2002 he served as a Liberal Democrat

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

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, alth ...

at the end of 1999 and served in the post from 2000 to 2004. In November 2004 he was elected joint

Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats The office of Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats (officially Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party) is a position within the Liberal Democrats, a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. The position of Deputy Leader ...

in the House of Lords. In 2010 he became the sole Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Dholakia is involved with a range of charities including being a Patron of the British branch of Child In Need India (CINI UK). In 1994 he 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE). 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 public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was found ...

. 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.

Personal life

He has been married to Lady Dholakia,

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

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

. He is a Hindu 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 British politicians of Indian descent 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 Gujarati descent Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman