Rokhsana Fiaz is a

Labour and Co-operative Party Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an el ...

politician serving as Mayor of Newham. Fiaz was elected as a councillor for the Newham ward of Custom House in 2014. Ahead of the 2018 mayoral election, following protracted disagreements within the local party, the incumbent Labour Mayor of Newham (and the first directly elected Mayor of Newham) Sir Robin Wales was not automatically re-selected as the Labour Party's candidate. In the open selection that followed, Fiaz defeated Wales for the Labour nomination by 861 votes to 503. Fiaz was subsequently elected mayor in May 2018, receiving 73.4% of the first preference votes (53,214 votes). She is the first directly elected female mayor for any London borough. Fiaz promised to hold a referendum on the direct elected mayoral system and this took place in May 2021. Voters decided by 56% to 44% to retain the system. In the local elections of May 2022 Rokhsana Fiaz was returned as mayor for second term, securing 35,696 votes (56.2%). She was conferred with an Honorary Fellowship by UCL in 2022 in recognition of her political services.

Personal life

Fiaz was born in Mile End Hospital in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

to parents who had moved to London from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in the 1960s.

Honours

In the 2009 Birthday Honours, Fiaz 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) "for services to Black and Minority Ethnic People."

References

Living people 21st-century British politicians Councillors in the London Borough of Newham English people of Pakistani descent Labour Party (UK) mayors Mayors of places in Greater London Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Mile End Women councillors in England Women mayors of places in England Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-politician-stub