Dr Shaukat Ahmed DU, MBE

Dr Shaukat Ahmed DU, MBE (born November 5, 1955), popularly known as Mr. Manningham is a British politician, a community leader, engineer and entrepreneur. He was also a Labour Party Councillor in City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (1991- 1999) and a Senior Project Manager of Leeds City Council (1987 – 2017).
Dr Ahmed was very involved in Bradford’s fight against racist National Front and British National Party. In 1976, he took part in the counter demonstration protesting against members of racist National Front, marching, hurling racial abuse and spreading hatred through Manningham, a neighbourhood predominantly lived in by people of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage.
Dr Ahmed has over three decades’ experience of serving in the public sector as an engineer. He is recognized for his community and voluntary development work in Bradford, West Yorkshire, for which he was even awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth ll in 2008.
Dr Ahmed was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bradford in 2023 for his services to the city and the university in the field of housing, education, enterprise development and youth engagement.
==Early life and education==
Dr Ahmed was born and brought up in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is a descendant of Hazrat Shah Toqui Uddin of village Sheikhpara. His father was an auditor for the Government of Bangladesh, and his mother was a housewife. Dr Ahmed grew up with six siblings, four sisters and two brothers.
He studied at Motijheel Central Government School and then enrolled in Faujdarhat Cadet College to pursue his high school education.
After completing his high school education, Dr Ahmed moved to the UK for higher studies and did his graduation and post-graduation in Electronic Engineering from the University of Leeds 1975 - 1982.
==Career==
Throughout his career, Dr Ahmed served in the public sector assuming multiple roles for the upliftment of the city. He was a Senior Project Manager in Leeds City Council for over three decades, where he overlooked multiple projects. Dr Ahmed also initiated several entrepreneurial ventures, such as the formation of Action for Business Ltd., Manningham Housing Association, Bangladeshi Youth Organisation, and Carlisle Business Centre. He was also an adviser to the British Rohingya Community and an elected member of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.
Carlisle Business Centre was created as a social enterprise that aims at offering affordable, serviced, and secure office space to new businesses and an Auditorium to host business and social events. This centre donates its generated profit to the Action For Community Ltd, a charity for the upliftment of local people.
Manningham Housing Association MHA was founded in 1986 with the aim to fulfil the housing needs of Black and Asian Communities in Bradford by Dr Ahmed & colleagues via the Bangladeshi Youth Organisation. Since its inception, MHA has built over 1400 houses for 6000 residents.
Apart from campaigning for the “Stop Genocide in Bosnia” campaign based in Bradford, Dr Ahmed also campaigned for UN intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina to tackle the rise of racism and fascism in 20th century Europe. He has also organized multiple relief convoys from Bradford to Bosnia for Bosnian refugees.
==Political work==
Dr Ahmed was a British Labour Party member since 1978, elected Member of the Council and is also an activist of the centre-left progressive party, Bangladesh Awami League. 
Dr Ahmed resigned from the British Labour Party in November 2023 due to irreconcilable differences with the leadership. He is now pursuing his pollical career as a cross-party activist participating on issue based campaigns.
==Community work==
Dr Ahmed was also one of the founding members of Bangladeshi Youth Organisation in Bradford from 1982 to 1992. He was also the founder Chair of Manningham Housing Association, Bradford from 1987 to 2001 and a founder Director and Chair of a community enterprise called Action for Business Ltd, which owns and runs Carlisle Business Centre in Bradford since 1991 to 2021. Dr Ahmed is now working on Bradford Curry Fest project “Bengal to Britain” and writing a contemporary history book “Bangladeshis in Bradford 1970 -2000”.
==Personal life==
Dr Ahmed is married to Syeda Shanaz Ahmed, who is a lawyer in the UK. The couple has two children named Shah Suhail Ahmed who is married to Umme Hany Alam and Maeesha Sharmin Ahmed, who is married to Nuzrul Hoque. Dr Ahmed is the paternal grandfather of Hana Aaloki Ahmed and Zakariya Shah Ahmed and maternal grandfather of Samiul Hoque and Rafiul Hoque.
He is fluent in English, Bangla, Sylheti, and Urdu. 
==Awards==
* Dr Ahmed was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth ll in 2008.
* Dr Ahmed was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bradford in 2023.
==Photo gallery==
==References==
Category:1955 births
Category:British politicians
Category:British engineers
Category:Entrepreneurs
Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds