Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh OBE WS NP (born 5 October 1970) is a Scottish politician, solicitor, and former actress, serving as chair of the

Alba Party The Alba Party (; ''Alba'' being the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland) is a Scottish nationalist and Scottish independence, pro-independence political party in Scotland. Founded in February 2021, it was led by former First Minister of Scotland, ...

since 2021. She was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

(SNP), Ahmed-Sheikh served as the SNP's Trade and Investment spokesperson, Deputy

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for working with the Leader of the House of Commons, Leader of the House in arrangi ...

, and National Women's and Equalities Convener. After losing her parliamentary seat, Ahmed-Sheikh started working at

RT UK RT UK, also known as Russia Today, was a free-to-air television news channel based in the United Kingdom. It was part of the RT network, a Russian state-controlled international television network funded by the federal tax budget of the Russi ...

on '' The Alex Salmond Show''. In March 2021 she defected from the SNP to the

and then stood as Alba's top list candidate in Central Scotland at the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

, but neither she nor her party succeeded in gaining a seat. Ahmed-Sheikh has been described as a key ally of former First Minister

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...

, who led the Alba Party until his death in 2024. Ahmed-Sheikh also founded and formerly chaired the Scottish Asian Women's Association.

Early life and education

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh was born in Chelsea, London, in 1970, and was raised in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Her mother is a half- Welsh, half-

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

actress who performed with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

(RSC) and completed a law degree in her retirement. Her father, Mohammad bin Ashiq Rizvi, MA, LL.B, JP, was born in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

and brought up in

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# ...

after Partition. He moved to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 1951, working first as a lecturer in English at the University of London and then as an insurance broker. He was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician, serving as councillor on the New Town/Stockbridge division on Lothian Regional Council from 1986 to 1994 and standing for Edinburgh Leith in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. He was the first Asian Conservative councillor in Scotland. Ahmed-Sheikh was educated at

Craigmount High School Craigmount High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland with 1,269 pupils located in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is situated between Corstorphine, East Craigs and Drumbrae and it moved into new premises a ...

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a private primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Lauriston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. It was ...

in Edinburgh, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

( MA) and the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

(LLB & Postgraduate Diploma in Law). She has a sister who is a London-based barrister.

Legal career

Ahmed-Sheikh became a partner at the Glasgow law firm Hamilton Burns, specialising in commercial conveyancing and private client work, often with a family law or immigration element. On 15 January 2019, she was found guilty of professional misconduct by the

Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) is a specialist tribunal in Scotland with jurisdiction over serious disciplinary issues within the solicitor profession in Scotland. History The Tribunal was established by section 50 of the S ...

(SSDT) and fined £3,000. The Tribunal found that Ahmed-Sheikh and fellow solicitor Alan Mickel had shown "disregard for the rules" in running a trust and had a conflict of interest when they borrowed money from it to help their ailing firm. In addition to their fines, the pair also had to pay the expenses of the Law Society of Scotland, which had brought the case forward. In September 2021, the SSDT found her guilty for a second time when she was ruled to have committed "recklessness by omission" during her tenure as the designated cashroom partner at Hamilton Burns, which went into administration in 2017. Ahmed-Sheikh admitted six other breaches of financial rules too but was cleared of any suggestion of dishonesty or a lack of integrity.

Political career

Early activism

Ahmed-Sheikh was active in the

Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Ki ...

from the age of 10 and a member from 16. She was chairperson of Edinburgh Central Young Conservatives and deputy spokeswoman for the party on women and family issues and equal opportunities. She stood as the party's candidate in Glasgow Govan in the

1999 Scottish Parliament election The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parlia ...

, where she came in third place with 2,343 votes (8.88%). While a Conservative Party member, she criticised

as "hopelessly out of his depth" and "utterly naive" for his comments condemning NATO's intervention in Kosovo. In 2000, she resigned from the Conservatives in response to

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

's "right wing" pronouncements on asylum seekers. She briefly joined the Labour Party before declaring that she would join the

(SNP), and was welcomed as a 'defector'. "I am not an opportunist, I have changed political parties - so what?", Ahmed-Sheikh said at the time. Salmond said he was "glad she had joined the party".

SNP and Yes Scotland

In July 2012, she joined the Advisory Board of

Yes Scotland Yes Scotland was the organisation representing the parties, organisations, and individuals campaigning for a ''Yes'' vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It was launched on 25 May 2012 and dissolved in late 2014 after Scotland vot ...

, the cross-party campaign for

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

ahead of the upcoming referendum. In May 2014 she was the third candidate on the SNP's list for the

European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until 2019, 751 ...

, but did not win a seat.

Member of Parliament (2015–2017)

In the 2015 general election, Ahmed-Sheikh was elected to the UK Parliament in the Ochil and South Perthshire constituency, earning 46% of the vote as the SNP took the seat from Labour incumbent Gordon Banks. She was Scotland's first female Muslim MP. However she lost the seat at the following 2017 general election to Luke Graham of the Conservative Party. During that election campaign, financial allegations emerged, regarding her time as a solicitor; calls were made for her to be suspended from the SNP, but leader

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...

stood by her.

Post–parliament and Alba Party (2017–)

In 2019, it was reported the SNP declined her application to stand in the upcoming European Parliament election of that year. On 31 March 2021, she was unveiled as a candidate for the

in the

, and stood for the party in Central Scotland. She was unsuccessful, as were all the other Alba candidates in the election. Ahmed-Sheikh spoke alongside

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

the day that he died in October 2024. She was in fact sitting next to him at lunch when Salmond collapsed and died. Ahmed-Sheikh was struggling to open a bottle of

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...

, when Salmond reached over to help, before collapsing to the floor.

Political opinions

Ahmed-Sheikh was described as being on the right-wing of the SNP, having asserted that the party's business policies were more typical of the

centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

. She supports Scottish republicanism.

Awards and honours

She 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

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to business and to the Asian community in Scotland.

Other works

Acting and media career

After graduating in law, Ahmed-Sheikh made acting her first career. She starred in the Pakistani drama series ''Des Pardes''. These led to a series of local modelling shoots. She starred in the 2000 drama '' Aansoo'', playing Imaan, the daughter of a mixed-race Scottish-Pakistani couple; the drama was filmed in both countries and was produced by her husband Zulfikar Sheikh. She produced and appeared in '' The Castle: Aik Umeed'' (2001). Ahmed-Sheikh is the owner (formerly co-owner with

) of Slainte Media, a production company behind '' The Alex Salmond Show''. She regularly co-hosted the programme on RT, until the channel was closed down in March 2022 following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. Ahmed-Sheikh wrote a column in ''The National'' for eight years, signing off in March 2023.

Charity work

Ahmed-Sheikh founded and chaired the Scottish Asian Women's Association. It launched on 19 April 2012 at

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

, with the Scottish government supporting this event, to the equivalent of around £16,000. Ahmed-Sheikh resigned as a trustee of SAWA after her election as an MP in 2015. In January 2016, '' The Herald'' reported that during the period Ahmed-Sheikh was chair, only a small proportion (3%) of the SAWA's income had been donated to charitable causes. The charity was wound up in 2018. She was involved with

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 ...

from its inception, presenting the awards at the inaugural ceremony in 2013 and in 2014. She is a trustee of Scottish Women in Sport, a charity founded in 2013.

Personal life

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, Ahmed-Sheikh married Zulfiqar Sheikh in 1991 and they have four children.

References

External links

Biography - Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh
Scottish National Party (Archived)
Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh's Westminister Maiden Speech
YouTube, 6 June 2015 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed-Sheikh, Tasmina 1970 births Living people 21st-century Scottish women politicians 21st-century Scottish politicians Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Strathclyde English people of Czech descent English people of Pakistani descent English people of Welsh descent Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Craigmount High School People educated at George Heriot's School Scottish Conservative politicians Scottish Muslims Scottish National Party MPs Scottish people of Czech descent Scottish people of Pakistani descent Scottish people of Welsh descent Scottish solicitors UK MPs 2015–2017 Scottish television presenters Scottish women television presenters RT (TV network) people Alba Party politicians Muhajir people