Peter Soulsby
| Sir Peter Soulsby | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st Mayor of Leicester | |
|
Assumed office 6 May 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Office Created |
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Member of Parliament for Leicester South |
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In office 5 May 2005 – 1 April 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Parmjit Singh Gill |
| Succeeded by | Jon Ashworth |
| Majority | 8,808 (18.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
27 December 1948 Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Lady (Alison) Soulsby (died Dec 2011) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | De Montfort University |
| Religion | Unitarianism |
| Website | Leicester Mayor website |
Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby (born 27 December 1948) is a British Labour Party politician and the current Mayor of Leicester. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned in order to contest the new post of mayor in April 2011.
Born in Bishop Auckland, Soulsby attended the Minchenden School, a grammar school in Southgate, London. He studied at the City of Leicester College of Education in Scraptoft, where he gained a BEd. He worked as a teacher at Crown Hills Secondary Modern School and in special needs schools.
He was first elected to Leicester City Council in 1974 and remained a Labour councillor until he was defeated in Spinney Hills ward in May 2003. Despite his own opposition to the Iraq War and his participation in rallies and marches, his defeat (and that of other sitting Labour councillors) reflected the widespread local opposition to the war.
He contested the Harborough parliamentary seat in 1979. In 1984, he stood for election for the Leicester European Parliamentary constituency but lost to the Conservative incumbent Fred Tuckman by 1.6%.
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