Punjabi-origin councillor is first Asian woman mayor in Britain
Thursday, 14/05/2015
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LONDON: A Punjabi-origin councillor has become the first Asian woman to be elected mayor in the UK.
During a ceremony at the Victoria Hall in the Ealing Council on Tuesday, Harbhajan Kaur Dheer, 62, became the mayor after succeeding councillor Tej Ram Bagha.
“It is a great privilege and challenge to be the mayor of the Ealing Council in London. I have no illusions about the task ahead. But if I can cope with Ranjit at home, I can climb even the Everest,” she said.
Her husband, councillor Ranjit Dheer, held the post of Ealing mayor in 2001-02. Born in Punjab in 1953, Harbhajan came to Britain in 1975. The early years in Britain were difficult and she had to work very hard to establish herself and raise two children.
She studied social sciences at Kingston University and obtained a degree in 1995. Harbhajan worked as an approved mental health professional in Surrey County Council till 2003.
After joining the Labour Party in the 1980s, she began to develop her public role within the party and outside in the community. She has served the borough as a governor of several schools. In the 1990s, she worked as a volunteer home visitor helping home-bound women with learning English. She is an advocate of rights of children and elderly, including those with mental health issues.
A mother of two a son and a daughter – she became a grandmother in January this year.
