Mohammad Asghar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mohammad Asghar MS
Mohammad Asghar, June 2016
Member of the Senedd for South Wales East
In office 3 May 2007 – 16 June 2020
Preceded by	Laura Anne Jones
Succeeded by	Laura Anne Jones
Personal details
Born	(1945-09-30)30 September 1945 Peshawar, North West Frontier Province, British India (now in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa, Pakistan)
Died	16 June 2020(2020-06-16) (aged 74) Newport, Wales
Political party	Welsh Conservatives
Other political affiliations	Plaid Cymru (until 2009) Welsh Labour (mid 1990s)
Children	Natasha Asghar
Website	www.mohammadasghar.org.uk

Mohammad Asghar (30 September 1945 – 16 June 2020), known as Oscar, was a Welsh politician who was a Member of the Senedd for South Wales East. He was a member of the Welsh Conservatives, and previously of Welsh Labour, and Plaid Cymru.

He came to prominence after being elected to the Welsh Assembly in 2007 as a member of Plaid Cymru on the list for South Wales East. He was the first ethnic minority and Muslim Member of the Welsh Assembly, as well as the first Assembly Member who was a member of a political party to defect to another party.

Early life

Born in Peshawar (then in British India) to Aslam Khan and Zubaida Aslam, Asghar gained a BA from Peshawar University before moving to Wales to complete a course in accountancy in Newport.

Political career

Asghar initially joined the Conservative Party, remaining a member for some two decades, later joining the Labour Party in the 1990s. He joined Plaid Cymru some time after becoming Wales's first Muslim councillor, representing Victoria ward on Newport City Council. He had stood for Plaid Cymru in general elections. His daughter Natasha Asghar also stood as a Plaid Cymru candidate in the 2007 Elections, and also joined the Conservative party at the same time he did so.

On 8 December 2009, Asghar became the first AM to cross the floor, defecting from Plaid Cymru to the Conservative Party. He claimed that he felt "out of tune" with Plaid policies, described himself as a royalist and unionist, and stated that he felt like "a little parrot in a jungle". Plaid Cymru called on Asghar to resign his seat following his defection.

Newport council election 2011

In December 2011, Asghar emailed fellow Conservatives asking them to support his wife in a vacant Newport City Council seat two days after the incumbent Les Knight had died.

Asghar later apologised for the email, and confirmed that his wife would not be standing for election in the forthcoming elections.

Mosque election dispute

In 2011, Asghar was involved in a dispute with members of the Jamia Mosque and Al-Noor Mosque, the two largest Sunni mosques in Newport, during which some members accused him of aggressively opposing the introduction of democratic elections for the mosques' leadership. Asghar was subsequently issued with an ex parte court injunction, forbidding him from attending either mosque. In December 2011, members of the two mosques applied to have the injunction extended. The injunction was instead lifted, when a Cardiff County Court judge instructed the two parties to come to a private agreement.

Awards and nominations

In January 2014 and 2015, Asghar was nominated for the Politician of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.

Personal life

He was a qualified pilot and spoke Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi fluently.

Asghar married his wife, Firdaus, in 1983; they had one daughter Natasha Asghar.

He ran with the Olympic torch in 1964 and campaigned for Wales to have its own cricket team.

Death

Asghar died on 16 June 2020 after being rushed to hospital earlier in the day. His funeral took place in Newport Central Mosque on 25 June 2020.

Offices held