Newcastle’s first ever Asian and Muslim lord mayor says a year as the city’s first citizen has left him “at ease” with his family’s tragic past.
Habib Rahman’s term of office in Newcastle’s highest ceremonial role came to an end last week, having made history 12 months ago as the only non-white person to hold the title in 800 years. The Labour councillor has spoken passionately in the past about the grief he and his family have endured over the killing of his father, Azizur, who was stabbed in the Wallsend takeaway where he worked just 10 days after moving to Tyneside in 1977.
Having pledged to use his term as lord mayor to fight against hate and discrimination, Coun Rahman says the experience has left him feeling “relaxed and at ease” – and that the respect that comes with the office has helped give his beloved mother, Ashrafia Khanon, a sense of “pride and reassurance”.
