Sadiq Khan has served as a mayor of London since May 2016 as he was re-elected in May 2021 to become the first Muslim to hold the position. The British-Pakistani mayor comes from a humble family background because he's one of eight siblings raised by a bus driver father and a seamstress mother. With his incredible political career, which started in 2005 as a member of Parliament for Tooting, here are some interesting facts to know about him.
In the London mayoral election in 2016, Sadiq Khan polled 56.9 percent in the second round vote, giving him the largest personal mandate in the history of UK politics.
Sadiq Khan declared to become the most all-time business-friendly mayor, standing up for the country's interests on several issues including business rates and Brexit.
London's Mayor received an honourable mention from Simon Walker, the Director General of the Institute of Directors (IoD) year’s Annual Convention in 2016 for being an advocate for business.
Although he had an unsuccessful trial to play cricket for Surrey in his teenager, he spent part of his youth boxing at the Earlsfield Amateur Club in Wandsworth. The combat sport helps him to have more self-confidence to overcome the obstacles he has experienced.
The world’s second-best boxer Joe Joyce was coached by Sid Khan, one of Sadiq Khan's older brothers. Joe Joyce won the silver medal in the super-heavyweight category at Summer Olympics in 2016.
Before running for Mayor, Sadiq Khan used to perform stand-up comedy in a series of events called the ‘Stand Up for Labour’.
During an interview on the Iranian channel Press TV in 2009, Sadiq Khan used the term “Uncle Toms” to refer to moderate Muslims. He regretted using the term and issued a grovelling apology publicly.
Khan was named in the 2018 TIME list of the world's 100 most influential individuals. As he has an ambitious agenda including his project to tackle climate change, his name included in the list is obvious.
Khan was accused by his mayoral rival, Zac Goldsmith to share a platform with people with extremist views. He answered he had dealt with some unpleasant characters when he was a human rights lawyer.
After completing his law degree, Sadiq Khan married Saadiya Ahmed who was also a solicitor in 1994. The couple is the proud parents of two daughters, Anisa Khan and Amara Khan.
In 20018, Khan wrote the book “Fairness Not Favours: How to Reconnect with British Muslims?” which was published by the Fabian Society. In his book, he argued that the Labour Party had to reconnect with British Muslims.
After graduating with a law degree from the University of North London, Sadiq Khan worked as a solicitor specialising in human rights issues.
At 23, Khan was elected to the local authority in tooting so he became London’s youngest councillor.
The elected mayor has a high public profile as he has tackled a major housing crisis in London. He has pulled a crucial policy programme to face a major housing crisis.
Sadiq Khan is a huge sports fan, especially boxing, football, and cricket. He also ran the London Marathon in 2014 to raise money for charity.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was the first British political leader to say that face masks should be worn in public
The taskforce the “No Nights Sleeping Rough” was launched by Khanto tackle homelessness and improve access to and the quality of housing within London.
The mayor of London criticised Brexit although it has finally happened. Khan travelled to the US to show that London was fully open for business again. He also stated that he would continue to do everything in his power to ensure Britain stayed in the EU.
Sadiq Khan is a lifelong Liverpool fan and he was heartbroken when the Reds were revealed as part of plans for a new European Super League.
