Rania Khan

Rania Khan (born 1983) is a British Independent politician, councillor in Bromley-by-Bow and cabinet member for culture and regeneration in Tower Hamlets. She was first elected as a councillor in 2006, at the age of 23, making her the youngest councillor in the country.

Early life
Rania Khan was born in Libya and came to the United Kingdom as a child where she completed her BSc in Biology and Computing at University of Surrey She also completed PGCE in Biology and secondary school Science at University of Goldsmiths.

Career
In 2006, Khan was first elected as a Respect Party candidate in Bromley-by-Bow. In October 2007, she resigned from Respect Party,

In July 2008, defected to the Labour Party. In October 2010, she was suspended along with nine other councillors from the Labour Party for her support of the Independent Mayor Lutfur Rahman in Tower Hamlets.

Khan then became an Independent Councillor. In February 2012, she was nominated for ‘Young Councillor of the Year’ at the C’llr Achievement Awards run by national think thank the Local Government Information Unit.

Khan is currently a Cabinet Member for Culture and Regeneration, and a secondary school Science teacher. Khan is a treasurer for Kingsley Hall, a community centre where Gandhi stayed and is a board member for various statutory and non-statutory bodies. Khan has also held Cabinet positions for Regeneration & Partnership and Employment & Skills. She is a member of NUT, CAPE (Campaign Against People’s Exploitation), Liberty and NOS (National Osteoporosis Society).

Personal life
Khan was married to Neil Zakarieya L'aiguille, but is now divorced. Her mother, Lutfa Begum is a nurse, former officer in the Bangladesh army and was elected as Councillor for Limehouse ward in 2006.