Mayor of Camden 2009-2010

Councillor Omar Faruque Ansari, Mayor of Camden 2009

Omar Faruque Ansari was born in Sylhet, East Pakistan, and the son of a businessman and tea grower who opened a London office in the 1950s.

Faruque first came to London at the age of nine when he attended the Robert Blair Primary School in Islington, before returning to attend military cadet school and college in East Pakistan.

In 1969 he joined the freedom fighters campaigning for an independent Bangladesh, and rose to command a force of some 300 young men. He was twice wounded in battle. Under the provisional government he was appointed a district commissioner, but in 1973 left Bangladesh to return to Britain to join his family’s expanding restaurant business in towns around Britain.

Faruque has lived with his wife, Elma, in Camden since 1988.

Faruque was himself elected as a councillor to represent Kentish Town ward in May 2006. Chairman for ten years (two five year terms) of the Habigonj Association of the UK and Bangladesh, Faruque has long experience undertaking social and charity work for the Bangladeshi population from his native region.

He recently visited Bangladesh with two Liberal Democrat MPs, Paul Rowen MP for Rochdale and Mike Hancock MP for Portsmouth South, to see what could be done to help repair the devastating damage wrought by Cyclone Sidr in November 2007.

His Mayoress will be his wife, Elma Ansari.

His escorts will be Mukul Hira, Shuhena Hira, Aminur Rashid, Mobashir Ali, Suber Abdikarim, Councillor Nancy Jirira and Councillor Linda Chung.