Syed Kamall
Syed Salah Kamall (born 15 February 1967) is a British politician who represented London as a Member of the European Parliament for the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2019. From 2013 to 2014 he served as Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament. In June 2014, Kamall became Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists in the European Parliament, and Co-Chairman in July 2017, along with Ryszard Legutko.
Syed Kamall | |
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Co-Chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists | |
In office 12 June 2014 – 1 July 2019 | |
Preceded by | Martin Callanan |
Succeeded by | Raffaele Fitto |
Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament | |
In office 19 November 2013 – 25 November 2014 | |
Preceded by | Richard Ashworth |
Succeeded by | Ashley Fox |
Member of the European Parliament for London | |
In office 5 May 2005 – 1 July 2019[1][2] | |
Preceded by | Theresa Villiers |
Succeeded by | Lance Forman |
Personal details | |
Born | Syed Salah Kamall 15 February 1967 London, England |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Sandira Beekoo |
Education | University of Liverpool London School of Economics City University London |
Website | Official website Parliament website |
In the 2019 European Parliament election, Syed Kamall lost his seat in the European Parliament.[3]
Biography
Kamall was born in Hornsey and brought up in Edmonton, London.[4] He is a Muslim,[5] and of Indo-Guyanese descent; his father migrated to London from Guyana in the 1950s.[6] He was educated at The Latymer School in Edmonton and holds a BEng from the University of Liverpool, a MSc degree from the London School of Economics and a PhD from City, University of London.
Initial career
Kamall started his career as a business systems analyst for NatWest Overseas Department (1989–91). He was a Management Fellow, University of Bath School of Management (1994–96), Management Research Fellow, Leeds University Business School (1996–97), Associate Director/Consultant, Omega Partners (1997–2001), and a Consultant at SSK Consulting (2001–05). Since 2004 he has been a Visiting Fellow at Leeds University Business School.
Before entering the European Parliament, Kamall worked as a consultant to companies on marketing, strategy and public affairs. In 2003, he started a diversity recruitment business. He is a co-founder of the Global Business Research Institute (GBRI),[7] an educational body conducting outreach to business executives, journalists and civil servants, promoting a greater understanding of globalisation and its consequences.
Publications
In 1996, Kamall wrote a book on EU telecommunications policy,[8] and has written on multinational business and telecommunications policy for such books as Management in China: The Experience of Foreign Businesses; Trade and Investment in China: The European Experience; Political and Economic Relations Between Asia and Europe: New Challenges in Economics and Management, and in such journals as Management International Review and Transnational Corporations.
Political career
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Kamall has been a member of the Conservatives since 1987 and has held various positions in the party since then: Chairman, Stockwell Ward, Vauxhall Conservative Association; Hon. Secretary, Bath Conservative Association CPC; Chairman, Eccleston Ward, and Chairman, Eccleston/Churchill CPC, Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association; Executive Member, London Eastern Area Committee.
In May 2000, Kamall was a Conservative Candidate for the London Assembly. The following year, he was Conservative candidate for West Ham in the June 2001 General Election. He was placed fourth on the Conservative list in London for the 2004 European Parliament elections. The Conservatives won three seats and Kamall became a Member of the European Parliament in May 2005, after Theresa Villiers stepped down on being elected as an MP to the UK Parliament. In the European Parliament, he was a member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs, Legal Affairs and International Trade committees.
Kamall was placed on the "A-list" of Conservative parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2010 election[9] and was again returned to Brussels in 2014 representing London as an MEP.
He is also a contributor at the free market public policy think tank The Cobden Centre, one of Europe's think tanks based around the Austrian School of economics.[10]
In October 2018, he was criticised after stating during a debate on Brexit that Nazis were socialists and followed left wing policies. There was an angry reaction and he apologised for the offence caused. However, he was angered himself when Udo Bullmann, a German MEP of the Socialists and Democrats Group, issued a press release which Kamall complained falsely accused him of calling the S&D Nazis.[11][12][13]
In the May 2019 European elections, Kamall lost his London seat in the European Parliament.[3]
Personal life
Kamall follows Islam.[5] He is married to Sandira Beekoo.
After leaving the European Parliament, Syed Kamall became the Academic and Research Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs and Professor of International Relations and Politics at St Mary's University, Twickenham [14] [15]
See also
- Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom 2004-2009
- Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom 2009-2014
References
- "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- "Key dates ahead". BBC News Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- "Jeremy Hunt fears for Tory party's future after election disaster". Evening Standard. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- "Interview: Syed Kamall MEP – "I would prefer people to have a choice, personally. I don't see why we need a shortlist."". Conservative Home.
- Kingston Euro MP Syed Kamall tells of terrifying Indian ordeal Archived 4 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine This Is Local London.
- "www.gbri.org". Archived from the original on 18 June 2006.
- Kamall, Syed (1 July 1996). "Telecommunications Policy". Cartermill International – via Amazon.
- "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Who is on the A-list?". conservativehome.blogs.com.
- "Syed Kamali - The Cobden Centre".
- "Tory sorry after socialism 'Nazis' remark". BBC News. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- "Conservative causes uproar in EU Parliament for Nazi comment". The Washington Times. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- "'You idiot!' Moment Tory MEP faces chorus of abuse for claiming Hitler 'was a socialist'". 24 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- "Professor Syed Kamall". Institute of Economic Affairs.
- "Professor Syed Kamall". St Mary%27s University, Twickenham.
External links
- www.syedkamall.com
- www.conservatives.com – Syed Kamall
- Profile at the European Parliament
- "European multinational activity in telecommunications services in the People’s Republic of China" (J Clegg, S Kamall, M Leung, Management International Review, 1996.)
- www.globalisation.eu
- www.kingstonconservatives.com
- www.uklibertyleague.org
- www.cityam.com
European Parliament | ||
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Preceded by Theresa Villiers |
Member of the European Parliament for London 2005–2019 | |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Richard Ashworth |
Leader of the Conservative Party in the European Parliament 2013–2014 |
Succeeded by Ashley Fox |
Preceded by Martin Callanan |
Chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists 2014–2019 |