Naveeda Ikram, a Pakistani-born Briton, is the United Kingdom’s first lord mayor to be both Muslim and a woman. Prior to her selection as lord mayor of Bradford in 2011, she served as the deputy lord mayor. Since 2004, she has served as a councillor for Bradford’s Little Horton ward.
Naveeda was also the first Muslim woman to serve in that capacity. As lord mayor, it is Naveeda’s role to serve as the public face of Bradford and to support the work of local charities. She chose Marie Curie Cancer Care, a cancer hospice in Bradford, and Bradnet, an organization that provides services to disabled individuals, as the two beneficiaries of her fundraising efforts. Prior to becoming lord mayor, Naveeda was instrumental in founding Bradford Unites in Disaster, a network of fundraising groups from throughout her region.
The organization raised £30,000 (about $49,000) and collected six tons of supplies to send to Pakistanis affected by flooding in 2010. In addition to serving on the Bradford Council’s Social Care Improvement Committee as well as her other roles in local government, Naveeda is an operations manager for Pakistan International Airlines and is a member of the Mayfield Community Association. She is a mother of three and lives in Bradford with her husband, Saqib Salam Shah.