The new Lord Mayor of Oxford has been selected by his fellow councillors.
Alan Armitage, who is currently the deputy mayor, will take over the reins from Cllr Elise Benjamin in May. Cllr Armitage's appointment was rubber stamped at a meeting of Oxford City Council on January 16.
He said: “I am delighted to have been selected as Lord Mayor of Oxford. It is a privilege and an honour to be chosen to represent my city. I am looking forward to learning more about the minority communities in Oxford as well as promoting cultural awareness in the city.
“I will be encouraging social cohesion and promoting the provision of advice services within the city. I have had an interesting year so far as Deputy Lord Mayor of Oxford and have met a variety of different people in the city from various cultural backgrounds. I am looking forward to the many new people that I will be meeting as I carry out this new role.”
Cllr Armitage was elected to the council in 2002 to represent Summertown, but is now a member for North Ward. He has also been an Oxfordshire County councillor since 2005. Born in Nigera, Cllr Armitage studied at Fettes College, Edinburgh before moving to the University of York where he gained a degree in Maths and Computer Science. He was made redundant from the IT industry in 2001 and is currently a member of the Immigration & Asylum Tribunal as a panel member.
Cllr Armitage's deputy will be Mohammed Abbasi, who will be the first Pakistani-born civic holder for Oxford. The Sheriff of Oxford will be Councillor Dee Sinclair. Councillor Abassi came to the UK in 1963 and started as an apprentice with GPO Telephones and he rose through the ranks to become an engineer.
Mr Abbasi became an Oxford City Councillor for St Mary’s Ward in 2002, and in 2004 was re-elected for Cowley Marsh where he continues to serve. He speaks fluent Arabic, Urdu and Englisha, and said: “It is a honour to be selected to represent my city, especially as I am the first Pakistani born civic holder for the council. I am looking forward to meeting the variety of different people within this city in my capacity as Deputy Lord Mayor.”
