London: Gujarat-born Yakub Patel has been elected as the city’s first Indian-origin Muslim mayor for 2023-24, following the completion of the term of Councilor Neil Darby in the UK city of Preston. In his new role, Patel will chair council meetings, and will represent the city at events throughout his year in office as the ceremonial head. “I am honored and happy to be the Mayor of Preston, a city I am proud to call home,” said Patel. I look forward to making a positive difference for the communities I serve and also providing additional support through my mayoral charities for the year ahead.
Prior to his new role, Patel has been serving as the city’s deputy mayor since May 2022. The long-serving councilor has been performing civic duties and hosted a summer visit by the royal family along with the then-mayor Preston’s outgoing Mayor Darby wrote in a tweet, “It gives me great pleasure to hand over the chains of office to Mayor-elect, Councilor Yakub Patel.” The past year has been one of the best experiences of my life and it has been a great honor for me.
Born in Bharuch, Gujarat, Patel graduated from MS University of Baroda with BA and MA degrees in English Literature. He came to the UK in June 1976 and began his career with Preston Corporation in 1979. Patel also held roles as a revenue inspector, traffic inspector, assistant chief, chief inspector and operations manager before retiring on July 4, 2009. He became involved in politics at the age of 10, when he began campaigning and distributing leaflets for his late father, who was a member of the Congress party. He first stood for the Labor Party for the Avenham ward in 1995. and was the first Muslim councilor in the history of Preston City Council. In addition, Patel was also elected as Lancashire County Councilor for Preston West Division during 2001–2009. Preston Jamia Masjid and Preston He is also a co-opted member of the Muslim Burial Society. He is a school governor of Frenchwood Community Primary School.
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