Nirj Deva
Niranjan Joseph Nirj Deva-Aditya (born
May 11,
1948,
Colombo,
Sri Lanka). "Nirj" Deva is one of the rare number of Asian born parliamentarians to be elected to the
United Kingdom House of Commons and then elected to represent that country as a member in a multi-national parliament (The
European Parliament).
He was born in
Sri Lanka to a leading family of Rajasthani descent and has been awarded the title of "Vishwa Keerthi Sri Lanka Abhimani," by the Buddhist clergy in recognition of his services to Sri Lanka
citation needed, even though he is a Roman Catholic. He speaks
Sinhalese and
English, and is married to Indra - a French-speaking Mauritian, and has one son. He holds Sri Lankan and British Citizenship, and is very much a citizen of the modern world.
He holds a degree in Aeronautical Engineering of Loughborough University UK, and was Postgraduate Research Fellow in Economics at that University. He became Chairman in
1981 of the Bow Group (a leading British political think-tank), and initiated the Transatlantic Conferences between the Conservative Party (Bow Group) and the Republican Party/Heritage Foundation in
Washington in 1981. He was a Member of the Council of the Royal Commonwealth Society 1976-80. He was appointed Chairman of the Department of Transport/National Consumer Council Committee on De-regulation of Air-Transport, whose Report was published by the UK Government in March 1986. This resulted in the low-fare airlines in Europe, which have brought affordable travel to millions.
In 1985 Nirj Deva became the first Asian-born person to be appointed by
Queen Elizabeth II to the ancient office of Deputy Lord Lieutenant for London â€" a position which he holds for life.
In
1992 Deva became only the second Asian-born person to be elected a Member of the House of Commons and serve in the British Government. He was the Member of Parliament for the
London constituency of
Brentford and Isleworth, and was Parliamentary Private Secretary at the
Scottish Office.
He was made political adviser to the Secretary of State for Transport, and a member of key Parliamentary Committees such as the Education Committee and the Parliamentary Ombudsman's Committee.
In
1999, Nirj Deva became the first Asian-born person to be elected as a Conservative Member of the European Parliament where he represents 8 million British voters. He serves as majority leader on the Committee on Overseas Development and Cooperation and is the Joint Coordinator of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific)- EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. He is also a Member of the influential Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.
He is a Fellow of Britain's Royal Society for Arts and Manufactures (FRSA).
He is Patron of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and has been endorsed by GOPIO to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.
citation needed He is Chairman of the EU-India Chamber of Commerce.
Deva has backed many important education and health issues - he is a staunch supporter of the
Autism Awareness Campaign UK and in Sri Lanka.
In April 2005 he was Chairman of the European Parliament's delegation to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York, and delivered a paper on the future of the United Nations at the US Council on Foreign Relations.
In July 2005 he was Chairman of the European Parliament's delegation to the UN High-level Conference on global financing of aid.
In Sept 2005 he was Co-Chairman (with Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France) of the European Parliaments' Delegation to the World Summit at the United Nations 60th General Assembly
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Who will be the next Secretary General?*
Picture from www.nirjdeva.com
