Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is a lawyer, author, business woman and member of the House of Lords. She was Britain's first Muslim Cabinet Minister; Chairman of the Conservative party 2010-12 and a Minister at the Foreign Office 2010-14. Daughter of an immigrant mill worker, Warsi rose to become an Advisor to the Leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, in 2004, the youngest peer in the House of Lords, aged 36, in 2007 and Britain’s first Muslim Cabinet Minister in 2010. The iconic images of her in 2010 on the steps of No 10 Downing Street in a shalwar kameez (a traditional ethnic outfit) were beamed around the world as she was appointed as Chairman of the Conservative Party – the first Asian to chair a major British political party. In 2012, Warsi was made Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Minister for Faith and Communities. In Government she led the campaign to ensure that Britain became the first western country to issue a Sukuk (Islamic bond), which was issued in 2014. She also Chaired the Global Islamic Finance & Investment Group. A campaigner on equalities and religious freedom in 2007 she travelled to Sudan and famously helped to secure the release of the British teacher Gillian Gibbons who was on trial for blasphemy. Warsi has been a major driver of several start-up businesses and runs a successful food manufacturing business with her husband which is one of the largest food processing manufacturers in the UK supplying to McCain and Greggs (all of the vegetarian and vegan fillings) amongst others. She manages her family textiles business and succession planning of a business and is an angel investor in a tech-startup which Microsoft are interested in acquiring. She is presenter of a daytime television show in the UK twice a week and hosted a reality TV show with Alastair Campbell in 2022 called "Make Me Prime Minister”. Warsi is Chair of the Baroness Warsi Foundation and Trustee of the Savayra Foundation, both of which focus on social mobility and gender equality.
Sayeeda Warsi
Britain's First Muslim Government Minister
Sayeeda Warsi
Britain's First Muslim Government MinisterAbout Sayeeda Warsi
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is a lawyer, author, business woman and member of the House of Lords. She was Britain's first Muslim Cabinet Minister; Chairman of the Conservative party 2010-12 and a Minister at the Foreign Office 2010-14.Daughter of an immigrant mill worker, Warsi rose to become an Advisor to the Leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, in 2004, the youngest peer in the House of Lords, aged 36, in 2007 and Britain’s first Muslim Cabinet Minister in 2010. The iconic images of her in 2010 on the steps of No 10 Downing Street in a shalwar kameez (a traditional ethnic outfit) were beamed around the world as she was appointed as Chairman of the Conservative Party – the first Asian to chair a major British political party. In 2012, Warsi was made Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Minister for Faith and Communities. In Government she led the campaign to ensure that Britain became the first western country to issue a Sukuk (Islamic bond), which was issued in 2014. She also Chaired the Global Islamic Finance & Investment Group.
A campaigner on equalities and religious freedom in 2007 she travelled to Sudan and famously helped to secure the release of the British teacher Gillian Gibbons who was on trial for blasphemy.
Warsi has been a major driver of several start-up businesses and runs a successful food manufacturing business with her husband which is one of the largest food processing manufacturers in the UK supplying to McCain and Greggs (all of the vegetarian and vegan fillings) amongst others. She manages her family textiles business and succession planning of a business and is an angel investor in a tech-startup which Microsoft are interested in acquiring.
She is presenter of a daytime television show in the UK twice a week and hosted a reality TV show with Alastair Campbell in 2022 called "Make Me Prime Minister”.
Warsi is Chair of the Baroness Warsi Foundation and Trustee of the Savayra Foundation, both of which focus on social mobility and gender equality.
Topics
- Brexit & Europe
- Supply Chain
- CSR
- Women - Empowerment
Books
- The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain, 2017
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