Shabana Mahmood... the first Arab woman to hold the position of Home Secretary in Britain.
Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special
**Arab Gulf - Reports:** **The British government conducted notable ministerial changes on Friday, most prominently the appointment of Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary, succeeding the dismissed David Lammy.** **The selection of Shabana Mahmood to assume the Home Office portfolio has garnered significant importance and attention, as she is the first Muslim woman to hold the position of Home Secretary in British history.** **Related News** **David Lammy appointed as the new Deputy Prime Minister of Britain** **The ministry's account welcomed Shabana via the "X" platform, stating: "For over two centuries, the Home Secretary has had the task of protecting the nation. Today, we begin a new chapter as we welcome Shabana Mahmood to the Home Office as the new Home Secretary."** **Shabana responded to the greeting, saying: "It is the honor of my life to serve as Home Secretary. The first responsibility of the government is to protect its citizens. Every day in this role, I will dedicate myself to achieving this goal."** **Who is Shabana Mahmood?** **Shabana Mahmood is a prominent lawyer and politician, who has been a member of the British Parliament for the "Birmingham Ladywood" constituency since 2010.** **Shabana Mahmood was born on September 17, 1980, in Birmingham to a family of Pakistani Muslim origin, whose roots trace back to the city of "Mirpur" in Kashmir.** **Shabana spent 6 years of her childhood in the Saudi city of Taif, from 1981 to 1986, where her father worked as a civil engineer on water desalination projects.** **After that, the family returned to Britain and bought a small grocery store where her mother worked, while her father later became the chairman of the Labor Party, and Shabana was his strong arm during election campaigns.** **Shabana graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Laws degree from Lincoln College, Oxford University, and then completed a course in professional advocacy in 2003 after receiving a scholarship. As a barrister, she specialized in "professional insurance" cases and worked in prominent offices in London.** **Her Political Beginnings** **After entering Parliament, she was assigned roles to follow up on important files and held the position of "Shadow Minister" for a number of ministries, such as the Home Office, then Business Affairs, and then Finance, and her task was to criticize government policies and propose alternatives.** **In 2015, she assumed a weighty responsibility represented in following up on budget and economic affairs. After the elections in that year, she was appointed "Principal Shadow Secretary to the Treasury," but she resigned in September of the same year, in protest against Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the party.** **In 2016, she was elected to the Supreme Leadership Committee of the Labor Party and began to play an important role in setting the party's public policies.** **In May 2021, she was summoned as part of the Labor Party's national plan group under the leadership of Keir Starmer, a strategically important position in preparing the party for elections.** **In 2023, she became responsible for the Justice portfolio, and then after the Labor Party's victory in 2024, she achieved a historic achievement to become the first Muslim woman to hold a ministerial position in British history as Minister of Justice.** **One of her notable achievements is that she became the first Muslim woman to receive the title of Lord Chancellor, which is one of the oldest and most important positions in the British state, dating back to the Middle Ages.** **Traditionally, the "Lord" combined being Minister of Justice, Speaker of the House of Lords, and Head of the Judiciary, and currently his main role is to head the Ministry of Justice and oversee the judicial system.**
