Yasmin Qureshi
Encyclopedia
Yasmin Qureshi
is a British-Pakistani
Labour Party
politician and a barrister
practicing criminal law. She was elected as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Bolton South East in the May 2010 general election.
, Pakistan
and moved to Britain when she was nine. Her father was an engineer and they lived in Watford
.
) and obtained a BA (Hons) Law degree and completed her Barrister-at-Law examinations at the Council of Legal Education. She obtained a Master of Laws at University College London
.
She stood, unsuccessfully, for Labour in the London constituency of Brent East in 2005. She has worked as a human rights advisor to the former London mayor Ken Livingstone
and previously headed the criminal legal section of the UN Mission in Kosovo
. Qureshi previously chaired the Human Rights and Civil Liberties Working Group of the Association of Muslim Lawyers
and was President of the Pakistan Club (UK).
She was elected at the 2010 general election in the safe Labour seat of Bolton South East, inheriting a majority of 11,000. Qureshi, Rushanara Ali
and Shabana Mahmood
, elected at the same time, are Britain
's first female Muslim
MPs. Qureshi is also the first woman to be elected as the member of parliament for Bolton South East.
Qureshi is a supporter of all black shortlists as a method of getting more ethnic minorities into Parliament.
, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel
, who was later arrested after it emerged that a banning order had been served against him by the Home Secretary, Theresa May
, but not communicated either to his representatives or UK border authorities.
is a British-Pakistani
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician and a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
practicing criminal law. She was elected as the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Bolton South East in the May 2010 general election.
Early life
Qureshi was born in GujratGujrat
Gujrat is a city in Pakistan. It is the capital of Gujrat District and the Gujrat Tehsil subdivision in the Punjab Province. People living in Gujrat refer to themselves as Gujratis, which sometimes leads to confusion with people from the Indian state of Gujarat which adjoins Pakistan...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and moved to Britain when she was nine. Her father was an engineer and they lived in Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
.
Education
She attended the Polytechnic of the South Bank (now London South Bank UniversityLondon South Bank University
London South Bank University is a university in south London. With over 25,000 students and 1,700 staff, it is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name...
) and obtained a BA (Hons) Law degree and completed her Barrister-at-Law examinations at the Council of Legal Education. She obtained a Master of Laws at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Political career
At the age of 16 she joined the Labour Party and became active in local politics.She stood, unsuccessfully, for Labour in the London constituency of Brent East in 2005. She has worked as a human rights advisor to the former London mayor Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
and previously headed the criminal legal section of the UN Mission in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. Qureshi previously chaired the Human Rights and Civil Liberties Working Group of the Association of Muslim Lawyers
Association of Muslim Lawyers
The Association of Muslim Lawyers has been active in the United Kingdom since 1993 and since its official launch in 1995 its membership and influence have been steadily growing. It has organiszed talks, seminars, conferences and careers workshops....
and was President of the Pakistan Club (UK).
She was elected at the 2010 general election in the safe Labour seat of Bolton South East, inheriting a majority of 11,000. Qureshi, Rushanara Ali
Rushanara Ali
Rushanara Ali is a British Labour Party politician and Associate Director of the Young Foundation, who has been the Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow since 2010...
and Shabana Mahmood
Shabana Mahmood
Shabana Mahmood is a British Labour Party politician and barrister, who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham, Ladywood since the May 2010 general election.-Early life:...
, elected at the same time, are Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's first female Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
MPs. Qureshi is also the first woman to be elected as the member of parliament for Bolton South East.
Qureshi is a supporter of all black shortlists as a method of getting more ethnic minorities into Parliament.
Meeting with controversial Arab Israeli cleric
Qureshi was named as one of three Labour Party MPs who had agreed to meet Raed SalahRaed Salah
Raed Salah is the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. He was born in Umm al-Fahm - an Israeli-Arab city bordering the Green Line - and was elected as the mayor of that city three times; in 1989, 1993 and 1997. He has eight children and is a former poetSalah was banned...
, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel
Islamic Movement in Israel
The Islamic Movement in Israel is a movement that aims to advocate Islam among Israeli Arabs. It operates on three levels: religious , social and anti-Zionist...
, who was later arrested after it emerged that a banning order had been served against him by the Home Secretary, Theresa May
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...
, but not communicated either to his representatives or UK border authorities.
Driving offences
In August 2010 Qureshi was found guilty of driving whilst using a mobile phone and driving without insurance. She was fined £1,250 and banned from driving for six months. It was the second time Qureshi had been caught using her phone whilst driving. She had previously committed two speeding offences.External links
- Yasmin Qureshi MP Official constituency website'
- Official Flickr presence