Biography
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and as Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the United Nations on 13 June 2017.
Education
He was educated at Rutlish School and London South Bank University (LSBU) as well as the Chartered Institute of Financial Services.
Political career
- Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (2018 to 2019)
- Minister for Aviation and Trade – Department for Transport (2016 to 2017)
- Minister for Countering Extremism – Home Office (2015 to 2016)
- Transport Minister – Skills & Aviation Security (2015 to 2016)
- Communities & Local Government Minister (2014 to 2015)
- Government Whip and Lord in Waiting (2012 to 2014)
- Vice-Chairman (national) of the Conservative Party (2008 and 2010)
- Councillor (Wimbledon Park) and Cabinet Member in the London Borough of Merton between 2002 and 2012
Career outside politics
Lord Ahmad had a 20 year career in the City working in banking and finance, including at the NatWest Group where he was a senior manager in corporate banking and financial markets. He was later Vice-President and Marketing Director of Alliance Bernstein and his last role before joining the government was as Strategy and Marketing Director at Sucden Financial.
Personal life
Lord Ahmad is married and has a daughter and 2 sons.
Minister of State (Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth)
The Minister’s responsibilities include:
- South Asia
- Commonwealth
- UN and multilateral
- governance and democracy
- open societies and anti-corruption
- human rights, including Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI)
- treaty policy and practice
- sanctions
- departmental operations: human resources and estates
Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development
Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict
The Prime Minister’s Special Representative (PMSR) on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict works with governments, the UN, civil society and others to:
- strengthen accountability and tackle impunity
- provide greater support for survivors
- ensure gender equality is fully integrated in all peace and security efforts
- deliver a more effective multilateral response to crimes of sexual violence in conflict
The PMSR also promotes and implements the commitments of the June 2014 Global Summit.
In addition to continuing the international campaign to raise awareness, the PMSR chairs the cross-Whitehall ministerial committee which brings together the FCO, DFID, MoD and the Home Office. The committee looks at implementation of UK commitments as well as what additional support we can provide politically and practically to key partners in order to secure measurable progress. The PMSR also chairs the PSVI Steering Board with NGOs, academia and experts.
The PMSR undertakes these activities on behalf of the Prime Minister, and reports to the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative
Previous roles in government
- Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief
- 2018 to 2019