Kurd to become mayor of London borough

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Ibrahim Dogus, a Kurdish entrepreneur and deputy mayor of Lambeth in South London, England, will become the first Kurdish mayor of the London Borough in the city center of the capital.

“I am very proud to be elected as the mayor of Lambeth, London’s best borough, and proud to be the first ever Kurdish mayor of the borough,” he told Kurdistan 24.

“I am greatly looking forward to serving the borough in this new capacity, we have exciting times ahead,” he added.

He will officially become mayor during a ceremony scheduled for April 24 in the Lambeth Town Hall, replacing the current mayor, Councilor Christopher Wellbelove.

“[Wellbelove] has been such a positive force and role model in Lambeth. He will be a difficult act to follow but I will endeavor to continue and build upon the vital work he has done in our borough,” Dogus wrote in a statement on Facebook.

“ I have been honored to serve as his deputy mayor over the past year, and working alongside him has afforded me the best possible training to take over this role.”

Philip Normal will replace Dogus as the new Deputy Mayor of Lambeth. “I look forward to working with, and supporting the new Mayor Ibrahim Dogus,” Normal wrote on Facebook.

Dogus, who also owns the Troia restaurant, serves as a Labour Party Councilor for the Lambeth London Borough Council representing the Bishop’s Ward. He is also the founder of the UK-based thinktank Centre for Turkey Studies and the Center for Kurdish progress.

Last year, he was given an award for his bravery, compassion, and front line assistance to police officers during the Westminster Bridge terror attack in 2017 by keeping his restaurant open to police officers.

Editing by Nadia Riva