Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Chaman Lal

Councillor Chaman Lal, born in Punjab, India, is the first British Indian, Ravidassia, and from a Sikh family to become Lord Mayor of Birmingham. He is the 113th person to hold the position. He loves cricket, live music and performing arts.

His father Sardar Harnam Singh (Banga) and uncle Sardar Ram Singh (Banga) were British/Indian army officers during the second world war; his uncle sadly lost his life in the Burma Campaign. After his father came to England in 1954, Chaman came to England with his mother Sardarni Jai Kaur in 1964, living in Birmingham ever since - truly a Brummie!

Believing in lifelong learning, he continued his academic studies in economics and law on part time degree courses at a local Polytechnic. As a qualified engineer in electronics he went on to set up his own electronics business and other businesses too. He married Vidya Wati in 1971 and they had three daughters and two sons, supporting all of them into higher education.

Chaman joined the Labour Party in 1989 and he has taken part in many social justice campaigns. He was first elected as a Councillor in 1994 for the Soho Ward and is now councillor for the Soho and Jewellery Quarter Ward.

He has served many years on the West Midlands Transport Authority and has a keen interest in improving public transport; As Chair of the Transport Scrutiny Committee, he ushered recommendations which led to the introduction of the contactless travel (Swift Card) in the West Midlands area. His other policy reviews resulted in more late night and early morning bus services to meet the needs of the night economy and early morning workers.

He is looking forward to serving the people of the great city of Birmingham not just as their Lord Mayor but as Birmingham’s first citizen.

Page last updated: 12 January 2024