Keith Vaz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Keith Vaz
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Official portrait, 2017
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| Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee | |
| In office 26 July 2007 – 6 September 2016 |
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| Preceded by | John Denham |
| Succeeded by | Tim Loughton (acting) |
| Minister of State for Europe | |
| In office 9 May 1999 – 11 June 2001 |
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| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Geoff Hoon |
| Succeeded by | Peter Hain |
| Member of Parliament for Leicester East |
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| In office 11 June 1987 – 6 November 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Peter Bruinvels |
| Succeeded by | Claudia Webbe |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz
26 November 1956 Aden Colony (now Yemen) |
| Political party |
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| Spouse | Maria Fernandes |
| Relations | Valerie Vaz (sister) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (MA) |
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years. He was an MP from 1987 to 2019.
Keith Vaz was a member of the Labour Party for most of his career. He is known for being the longest-serving British Asian MP in the UK Parliament. He held important roles, including Minister for Europe. He was also the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Where Keith Vaz Grew Up
Keith Vaz was born on 26 November 1956. His birthplace was the British area of Aden Colony, which is now part of Yemen. His parents were Anthony Xavier and Merlyn Verona Vaz.
His family came from Goa, a state in India. This is why his last name, Vaz, sounds Goan-Portuguese. Keith Vaz is also a distant relative of Saint Joseph Vaz. Saint Joseph Vaz was a missionary in the 1600s.
Moving to England
In 1965, Keith Vaz moved to England with his family. They settled in a town called Twickenham. His father used to write for The Times of India. In England, he worked in the airline industry. His mother was a teacher and also worked part-time at Marks & Spencer.
When Keith Vaz was 14, his father passed away. Later, his mother, Merlyn Vaz, moved to Leicester. She became a Labour councillor for Leicester City Council and served for 14 years.
Education and Studies
While in Aden, Keith Vaz went to St Joseph's Convent school. In England, he attended Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. After that, he studied law at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He earned his first degree from Cambridge University in 1979. He later received his Master of Arts degree in 1987.
Keith Vaz has two sisters. His sister Valerie Vaz has been an MP for Walsall South since 2010. His other sister, Penny McConnell, is a solicitor. Keith Vaz lives in London with his wife, Maria Fernandes, and their two children.
Early Career Before Parliament
Before becoming a politician, Keith Vaz worked as a solicitor. A solicitor is a type of lawyer. In 1982, he worked for the council in Richmond upon Thames. Later, he became a senior solicitor for the London Borough of Islington.
In 1985, he was chosen to be the Labour candidate for the Leicester East area. He then found a job in Leicester. He worked as a solicitor at a law center funded by the City Council. He stayed in this job until he was elected to Parliament in 1987.
Political Journey
Becoming an MP
Keith Vaz joined the Labour Party in 1982. In 1983, he ran as a Labour candidate in an election but did not win. He also ran in the European Parliament election in 1984.
On 11 June 1987, Keith Vaz was elected as the Member of Parliament for Leicester East. He won against the sitting MP, Peter Bruinvels. Three other Black Labour Party members also became MPs in the same election.
Re-elections and Key Roles
Keith Vaz was re-elected many times. He won elections in 1992, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2017. This shows he was very popular with voters in his area.
He held many different jobs in Parliament:
- From 1987 to 1992, he was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee. He later became the chairman of this committee from 2007 to 2016.
- From 1993 to 1994, he was part of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- From 2002 to 2007, he was a senior Labour member of the Select Committee for Constitutional Affairs.
In 1992, Keith Vaz became a Shadow Junior Environment Minister. This was his first important role in the Labour Party's "shadow" government. In 1994, a law he had supported became real. This law allowed people who faced racial discrimination to receive unlimited compensation.
He also served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General. From May to October 1999, he was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department. After that, he became the Minister for Europe. He held this important position from October 1999 to June 2001.
Other Contributions
Keith Vaz was also an elected member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party. He was also the vice-chair of the Women, Race and Equality Committee. Since 2000, he has supported the Labour Party Race Action Group. In 2006, he became the Chairman of the Ethnic Minority Taskforce.
In 2016, he was part of a committee that looked at the Criminal Finances Bill. This bill aimed to stop financial wrongdoing. He also supported continued funding for homoeopathy on the National Health Service. In the 2016 Labour leadership election, he supported Owen Smith.
Stepping Down from Parliament
In October 2019, MPs voted to suspend Keith Vaz from Parliament. This was due to issues related to his conduct. On 10 November 2019, Keith Vaz announced that he was retiring from Parliament. He said he would not run for re-election in the general election that month. His suspension meant he would have faced a recall petition. This petition could have led to a special election if enough people in his area supported it.
After Parliament
Community Involvement
In January 2020, Keith Vaz was elected chairman of the Leicester East constituency Labour Party (CLP). In 2020, he spoke out against a petition that made serious claims about Mahatma Gandhi. He said it was a "dreadful petition" that tried to divide communities. He also said he would report it to the police if it was not removed.
Keith Vaz is the founder of Silver Star Diabetes. This is a charity based in Leicester that helps people learn about diabetes. The charity uses Mobile Diabetes Units to attend community events. It also holds weekly "Diabetes Chai Chat" sessions with experts. The charity has also held health camps in other countries like Bangladesh and India.
Attempt to Return to Parliament
In October 2023, there were reports that Keith Vaz was thinking about running for Leicester East again. On 7 June 2024, it was announced that he would stand in Leicester East for the One Leicester party. Because of this, he was removed from the Labour Party. He did not win the election, finishing fifth with 3,681 votes.
