Coventry appoints Sikh councillor as Lord Mayor

By Asia Samachar | Britain |

Councillor Jaswant Singh Birdi has been appointed as the Lord Mayor of the City of Coventry for the next one year.

Birdi, who has served as Deputy Lord Mayor for the past 12 months, was presented with the Chains of Office at the annual general meeting at Coventry Cathedral on Thursday (May 18, 2023). He also holds the distinction of being the first turban-wearing mayor for Coventry.

Birdi has spent 17 years as a councillor in the city, representing Bablake Ward for the past nine years, following two terms of office in the 1990s in the Hillfields Ward. His wife Krishna is Lady Mayoress, according to the council website.

Birdi was born in a village in the Panjab, he spent some time as a child in Lahore in Pakistan, and Calcutta in West Bengal, as his family travelled for employment.

In the mid-1950s he emigrated with his parents to Kenya in East Africa, where he had his primary and secondary education, and emigrated to the UK in the ‘60s to carry on with his further education.

“As a Sikh, it also means so much that I will be wearing the Chains of Office and the turban. It will help show what a happy multicultural city we have and maybe inspire others as well,” he said.

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