Jagdish Sharma (councillor)

Jagdish Sharma was born and raised in India.^[1]

For his services to local government, Sharma was awarded an MBE in 1995 and in 2000 he received the freedom of the borough.^[2] First elected to the council in 1974,^[3] Sharma served as Mayor of the London Borough of Hounslow from 1979 to 1980,^[1] and was the first Asian mayor in the United Kingdom.^[2] Sharma studied economics at Punjab University where he graduated with a master's degree.^[2] In 1965 he migrated to the UK where began as a mathematics teacher.^[4] During his 30-year career in the Inner London Education Authority, he later led the maths department at Lady Margaret School in Southall where he became head teacher.^[4][2] In 2014, Sharma retired from his leadership of the Hounslow Council.^[4] He died at the age of 91 in 2026 following a long battle with cancer.^[2]