Nirj Deva

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Niranjan Joseph Deva-Aditya, known as Nirj Deva (born May 11, 1948, Colombo, Sri Lanka). 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).

In 2006 he was a Candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as Secretary-General of the United Nations (see www.unsg.org "Candidates")

He was born in Sri Lanka to a leading family of Rajasthani descent and 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 Mhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Recentchangeslinked/Nirj_Deva Related changesember 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 – 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 South East England. 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), Chairman of the EU-India Chamber of Commerce and a Patron of the International Monarchist League.

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

[edit] External links

• Who will be the next Secretary General?
• Picture from www.nirjdeva.com
• Profile at European Parliament website

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by: Sir Barney Hayhoe	Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth 1992–1997	Succeeded by: Ann Keen