Foysol Choudhury

Foysol Hussain Choudhury
Foysol Hussain Choudhury; MBE
	ফয়ছল হোসেন চৌধূরী
Born	5 January 1969; Badardi, Bausha, Nabiganj, Habiganj, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
Nationality	British
Occupation	Businessman
Years active	1991–present
Known for	Politics and community relations
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Title	Chairman of Edinburgh and Lothian's Regional Equality Council
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Tahmina Choudhury (Moni)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Al-Haj Gulam Rabbani Choudhury (father); Rukeya Rabbani Choudhury (mother)
Relatives	Ripa Kadir (sister); Muffazal Choudhury (brother); Rema Choudhury (sister); Sheema Rahman (sister); Eipa Choudhury (sister); Wali Tasar Uddin (uncle)

Foysol Hussain Choudhury, MBE (Bengali: ফয়ছল হোসেন চৌধূরী; born 5 January 1969) is a Bangladeshi-born British businessman. He is Chairman of the Edinburgh and Lothian's Regional Equality Council. He is one of the founding directors and the Vice Chair of the Edinburgh Mela. He is also Chairman of the Bangladesh Samity Edinburgh.

Early life

Choudhury was born in the village of Badardi, Bausha Union, Nabiganj, Habiganj, Sylhet District, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh),[1] and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland.[2]

Choudhury's parents are the late Al-Haj Gulam Rabbani Choudhury and Rukeya Rabbani Choudhury. He is eldest of six siblings, he has one brother and five sisters.[1] In 1982, his father came and settled in Edinburgh. Choudhury's uncle is businessman Wali Tasar Uddin.[3]

Career

During his time studying at the University of Edinburgh, Choudhury took responsibility for his ailing father's business. He expanded the business and is now an entrepreneur with interests in catering, hospitality, finance and real estate across the United Kingdom and Bangladesh.[1]

Choudhury is a community activist in the UK. He has worked with the Scottish Government and various councils to improve community relations. He has played a leading role in several charities.[1]

He has been involved with the Edinburgh and Lothian's Regional Equality Council (ELREC) since he was a teenager and has been an active campaigner for equality and good race and interfaith relations in Scotland. He has served the ELREC as a Trustee, company secretary, Vice Chair and he is currently its chairman. Choudhury has led the organisation through its transition from the race equality council to a pan-equalities regional council.[1][4][5][6] In 2013, he was re-elected for a fourth term.[3]

In 1991,[3] Choudhury co-founded the Edinburgh Mela[3] and is currently its vice-chair. In 2010,[1] he was elected as the Chairman of the Bangladesh Samity Edinburgh (Bangladesh Association Edinburgh).[3] He has organised, annually, Bangladesh Independence Day Celebrations and other events to promote strong community relations.[1] Choudhury is the Chairman of the Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs of Scotland and as one of the founding members of Dine Bangladeshi Campaign.[1]

At the snap 2017 general election, Choudhury was selected as the official Labour Party candidate for the Edinburgh South West constituency. However, he was not elected and finished in third place with 13,213 votes.[7]

Criticism

On 11 June 2019, an article in the Edinburgh Evening News reported criticism of Mr Choudhury by an employment tribunal. The tribunal, brought by former Mela director Chris Purnell, found that evidence given by Mr Choudhury was unsatisfactory. The tribunal said Mr Purnell had given his evidence “in a straightforward and measured way” and it was “entirely credible”. It added: “In contrast, the manner in which Mr Khan and Mr Choudhury gave their evidence was often unsatisfactory. Both showed a reluctance to answer simple questions directly.”

The tribunal awarded Mr Purnell £67,000 after it found he was unfairly dismissed from his role of director of the Mela festival, of which Mr Choudhury was vice-chair. Mr Purnell alleged that Mr Choudhury told him he should “watch himself” and “remember who pays his wages”. And he said Mr Choudhury also criticised his body language and told him “directors come and go” and that he should not be taking credit for the success of the Mela and “acting as if he was doing the board a favour”.

The 2016 Mela was cancelled but the festival went ahead in scaled-back form in 2017 and 2018. The council has invited tenders to run a multicultural event in the summer of 2019.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, Choudhury was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2004 New Year Honours[3] for his services to the community.[1] In 2006, he was awarded from the Channel S Award for his outstanding role as community worker and leader.[3]

Personal life

Choudhury is married Tahmina (Moni) Choudhury[1]

Choudhury is involved in fundraising campaigns, raising over a quarter of a million pounds for causes including Bangladesh Cyclone Appeal in Scotland, St Colombia's Hospice, Leukaemia and Cancer appeal, Sick Kids appeal, British Heart Foundation and many others. In addition to this he is also one of the organisers who built two shelter and 40 houses for the survivors of Cyclone Sidr Bangladesh in 2010.[1]

gollark: No, "digital natives" are still incompetent.

gollark: It's fortunate that parents are mostly not competent enough to do anything beyond use preexisting tooling in simple ways.

gollark: It's probably when the app is "running" in some way, not just actively focused.

gollark: Oh, I have an explanation.

gollark: Maybe I should have a web interface for APIONET for purposes.

References

Karim, Mohammed Abdul; Karim, Shahadoth (November 2014). British Bangladeshi Who's Who (PDF). British Bangla Media Group. p. 68. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
"Foysol Choudhury aiming for Alistair Darling seat". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
Ahmed, Syed Shah Salim (14 November 2013). "Foysol Choudhury Re-elected Chair for Edinburgh & Lothian Regional Race Equality Council". GBNews24.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
"Racist crime down in sign of improving city relations". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
"407 racist or hate cases in schools". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
Holden, John-Paul (21 February 2015). "Race equality body accuses council of 'dishonesty'". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
Pasha, Syed Nahas (5 February 2014). "14 Bangladeshi descendants fighting it out in UK general election". London: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.

External links

Foysol Choudhury on Twitter

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[bbwhoswho14-1] Karim, Mohammed Abdul; Karim, Shahadoth (November 2014). British Bangladeshi Who's Who (PDF). British Bangla Media Group. p. 68. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[scotsman2-2] "Foysol Choudhury aiming for Alistair Darling seat". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[gbnews24-3] Ahmed, Syed Shah Salim (14 November 2013). "Foysol Choudhury Re-elected Chair for Edinburgh & Lothian Regional Race Equality Council". GBNews24.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2014.

[scotsman1-4] "Racist crime down in sign of improving city relations". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[scotsman3-5] "407 racist or hate cases in schools". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[scotsman4-6] Holden, John-Paul (21 February 2015). "Race equality body accuses council of 'dishonesty'". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[bdnews24-7] Pasha, Syed Nahas (5 February 2014). "14 Bangladeshi descendants fighting it out in UK general election". London: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.