The Lord Dholakia, OBE

Liberal Democrat Peer

Lord DholakiaAlthough from his arrival in Britain Lord Dholakia was involved in Liberal politics, he had come here primarily to study at Brighton Technical College, rather a contrast to his early years and schooling in Tanzania and India. He was firstly Chairman of Brighton Young Liberals between 1959 and 1962 and then moved to representative politics, being elected to Brighton Borough Council 1961-1964. At this time he took his first job as Medical Laboratory Technician at Southlands Hospital.

In 1966 he became Development Officer for the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants and later pursued work with the Community Relations Commissioner. In 1969 he became Secretary of the Liberal Party's Race and Community Relations Panel. Then, from 1976 he worked for the Commission for Racial equality and most recently he was a member of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain. This was set up by the Runnymede Trust an Independent Think Tank devoted to the cause of promoting racial justice in Britain.

He has also been involved in the Sussex Police Authority, the Police Complaints Authority and he has been a council member of the Howard League for Penal Reform since 1992 as well as a member of the editorial board of the Howard Journal of Criminology. From 1992-1996 he also served as a member of the Ethnic Minority Advisory Committee of the Judicial studies Board.

He became a Peer in 1997 and is frontbench spokesperson on Home Affairs, after serving as an assistant whip between 1997 and 2002. He sat on the recent panel that selected cross-bench peers. He was also elected to the post of Party President in 1999 and in 2002. In November 2004 he was elected joint Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Peers. 

He married in 1967 and has two daughters. He is a keen photographer, gardener and enjoys travelling. He also loves to cook.