- Waheed Alli, Baron Alli
Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born
November 16 ,1964 ) is a British multimillionaire media entrepreneur and politician. He was co-founder and managing director ofPlanet 24 , a TV production company, and managing director at Carlton Television Productions. He is a Labour peer.Biography
In British political terms he is considered Asian, though both of his parents are
Indo-Caribbean . His mother, a nurse, is fromTrinidad , and his estranged father, a mechanic, is fromGuyana . He has been claimed by both constituencies, see profiles below. He was named one of the 20 most important Asians in British media in 2005. [http://www.asiansinmedia.org/top20/2005/1.php] At the same time, he maintains ties with his Caribbean roots, both with other British-Guyanese politicians such asValerie Amos andTrevor Phillips , and with PresidentBharrat Jagdeo [http://www.caribvoice.org/Profiles/peers.html] .Alli grew up in humble surroundings, attended Stanley Technical College in South Norwood,
London , and left school at 16 with nineO-levels [http://www.knittingcircle.org.uk/waheedalli.html] .Business career
He started work as a junior researcher for a finance magazine and worked his way up in the media business within
Robert Maxwell ’s stable of publications. He then went to the City for a second career ininvestment banking , through which he became wealthy [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1047062.stm] . In the mid-1980s he metCharlie Parsons , who was to become his business and life partner.Alli’s third career, and the first in which he achieved public prominence, was in the television industry. He and Parsons set up
24 Hour Productions , which produced "The Word", “the most talked about television programme in Britain” [http://www.knittingcircle.org.uk/waheedalli.html] . In 1992 they merged withBob Geldof ’sPlanet Pictures to formPlanet 24 . Such was its success that it became one of the largest TV production companies in the country, and the main independent supplier toChannel 4 [http://www.knittingcircle.org.uk/waheedalli.html] . It was responsible for genre-breaking programmes such as "Big Breakfast " and "Survivor".Carlton Television bought Planet 24 in March 1999 for £15 million, with Alli and Parsons prudently retaining the rights to the lucrative "Survivor" format. Waheed Alli became a Carlton board director before stepping down a year later. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,738817,00.html]In 2003 Alli took over as chairman of the
media rights companyChorion , which owns rights toEnid Blyton andAgatha Christie . [http://www.asiansinmedia.org/top20/2005/1.php] He is chairman of AIM-listedAsos and a director ofOlga Television , entertainerPaul O'Grady 'sproduction company . He owns part ofShine Limited , a media production company he co-founded in March 2001 withElisabeth Murdoch , daughter of media-magnateRupert Murdoch . He was part of a failed £100m bid backed byprivate equity firm3i to buyVirgin Radio fromSMG plc in 2005. In March 2007 he was appointed as SMG's non-executive director [http://media.guardian.co.uk/city/story/0,,2026983,00.html]Politics
Waheed Alli was made a
life peer as Baron Alli, ofNorbury in theLondon Borough of Croydon , in 1998 at the age of 34, becoming the youngest and the first openly gay peer in Parliament. Prime MinisterTony Blair had for years used Alli as a means to help him reach out to a younger generation (aka “yoof culture”) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1047062.stm] , and as such he is considered one of "Tony’s cronies" [http://www.caribvoice.org/Profiles/peers.html] .. TheBBC summarised his appointment as “the antithesis of the stereotypical ‘establishment’ peer - young, Asian and from the world of media and entertainment”. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1047062.stm] He sits on the Labour benches in theHouse of Lords .Alli has used his political position to argue for
gay rights . He advocated lowering theage of consent for homosexuals from 18 to 16, equal to heterosexuals. It was during a heated exchange with conservative opponents, led by Baroness Young, that he informed his fellow peers that he was gay. In April 1999, he said in a speech, "I have never been confused about my sexuality. I have been confused about the way I am treated as a result of it. The only confusion lies in the prejudice shown, some of it tonight [i.e. in the House] , and much of it enshrined in the law." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1047062.stm] Lord Alli also spearheaded the campaign to repealSection 28 . [http://www.gmax.co.za/think/history/2006/060316-clause28.html] He is one of very few openly gay Muslim figures in public life anywhere in the world.He influenced the draft Communications Bill in 2003 [http://www.asiansinmedia.org/top20/2005/1.php] .
He labelled the awarding of a knighthood to
Salman Rushdie as a "controversial decision" that might harm community relations.Other information
Alli is the President of the Croydon Youth Development Trust. [http://www.cydt.org.uk/index.html]
Croydon is a borough insouth London .A portrait of him is held by the National Portrait Gallery, as is standard for
peer s. [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp66357]He was a
keynote speaker at the International Conference onLGBT Human Rights, part of the2006 World Outgames .In 2002 he became a patron of
The Albert Kennedy Trust , stating “Being a teenager isn’t easy and it’s particularly difficult for vulnerable and socially excluded members of our community. The Albert Kennedy Trust offers young gay men, lesbians and bisexuals a unique and targeted service. My first task as Patron will be to support plans to extend these services across the UK, to help the increasing number of young people contacting the Trust.”In 2005 Alli became a Patron of Oxford Pride, the annual Pride event in Oxfordshire.
Currently in 2008 Alli is the chairman of Chorion Limited, in the UK with branch offices in NY, (Chorion Silver Lining, inc.) Sydney, and Tokyo.
Alli is the chancellor of
De Montfort University inLeicester .ee also
*
Indo-Caribbean References
*http://oxfordpride.org.uk
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1047062.stmBBC profile, 29 November 2000.
*http://www.asiansinmedia.org/top20/2005/1.php Asians in Media profile, 2005.
*http://www.caribvoice.org/Profiles/peers.html. Caribbean Voice profile, October 2001.
*http://www.knittingcircle.org.uk/waheedalli. Knitting Circle profile, with press cuttings
*http://www.akt.org.uk/patrons.htm The Albert Kennedy TrustExternal links
* [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/minutes/980721/ldminute.htm Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords] House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 21 July 1998
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