42 Facts About Nirj Deva

Nirj Deva was a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons from 1992 to 1997, for the seat of Brentford and Isleworth.

Nirj Deva was the fifth Asian-born person to be elected a Member of the House of Commons, and in 1999 became the second so-born to be elected as a Conservative to the European Parliament which operates via a party list system.

In November 2011 Nirj Deva became the European Conservatives and Reformists Group's candidate for President of the European Parliament, following three UN-related roles, representing the European Union, in the 2005 to 2006 period.

Nirj Deva was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to a leading family of Rajasthani descent, and is a Roman Catholic.

Nirj Deva's grandfather was a Senator in the first Sri Lankan Parliament.

Nirj Deva's father was Dr Kingsley De Silva Nirj Deva Aditya, a prominent eye surgeon in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Nirj Deva spent his primary and secondary education at St Joseph's College, a Catholic school in Colombo.

Nirj Deva holds Sri Lankan and British citizenship, and speaks Sinhala and English.

Nirj Deva was educated at Loughborough University, where he completed a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and was a Postgraduate Research Fellow in Economics.

Nirj Deva stood as the Conservative Party candidate in Hammersmith at the 1987 general election but lost by 2,415 votes to sitting Labour MP Clive Soley.

At the 1992 general election, Nirj Deva was elected to the House of Commons as MP for the London constituency of Brentford and Isleworth with a majority of 2,086.

Nirj Deva was only the fifth Asian-born person to be elected a Member of the House of Commons and serve in the British Government.

Nirj Deva was defeated in the 1997 general election, losing to the Labour candidate Ann Keen by 14,424 votes.

Nirj Deva was chosen by the Conservatives to be one of their candidates for the South East England at the 1999 European Parliament election.

Nirj Deva became the first Asian-born person to be elected as a Conservative member of the European Parliament.

At the 2004 European Parliament election Nirj Deva was moved up to second place on the Conservatives' list of candidates for South East England.

At the 2009 European Parliament election Nirj Deva was placed third on the Conservatives' list of candidates for South East England.

In November 2011 it was announced that Nirj Deva would be the European Conservatives and Reformists Group's candidate for President of the European Parliament.

At the 2014 European Parliament election Nirj Deva was ranked one spot higher for the same EU region.

Nirj Deva serves as co-ordinator on the Committee on Overseas Development and Cooperation, and is a bureau member of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

Nirj Deva is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament.

Whilst an MP Nirj Deva served as a consultant for tobacco manufacturer Rothmans, builders Laing and power station equipment manufacturer KHD.

Nirj Deva is regarded as an unofficial "Ambassador-at-Large for Sri Lanka".

Nirj Deva's family has extensive business interests in Sri Lanka including tea, rubber and coconut plantations as well as a distillery and residential property.

Nirj Deva is a director of Waulugalle Distilleries Limited, Serene Residencies Limited and the family trust.

Nirj Deva holds directorships of a number of Sri Lanka's largest companies.

Nirj Deva is a director of conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC.

Nirj Deva was appointed a non-executive director of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC, a subsidiary of Aitken Spence PLC, with effect from 1 July 2010.

Nirj Deva was appointed to the board of directors of MTD Walkers PLC with effect from 29 February 2012.

Nirj Deva is a director of Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC and its subsidiary Melstacorp Limited.

Nirj Deva is a director of The Kingsbury PLC, a subsidiary of Hayleys PLC.

Nirj Deva is a shareholder, director and chairman of Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC, a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market.

Nirj Deva is a director of two of the company's subsidiaries, Symphony Recycling Technologies Limited and Symphony Plastics Limited.

Nirj Deva is currently director of Deva Imperial Limited, Monte Zita Limited and Stassen Teas Limited.

In 1981, Nirj Deva became Chairman of the Bow Group, a conservative think tank in Great Britain, and initiated the Transatlantic Conferences between the Bow Group and the Republican Party and The Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC.

Nirj Deva was appointed Chairman of the Department of Transport and National Consumer Council Committee on Deregulation of Air Transport, whose report was published by the UK Government in March 1986.

Nirj Deva was a Member of the Council of the Royal Commonwealth Society from 1976 to 1980.

Nirj Deva is a Fellow of Britain's Royal Society of Arts, President of the EU-India Chamber of Commerce, and a Patron of the International Monarchist League.

In 2006 Nirj Deva tried to become a candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Nirj Deva claimed to have received the recommendation of Fijian Foreign Minister Kaliopate Tavola, a claim refuted by Fiji.

Nirj Deva tried unsuccessfully to receive the endorsement of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Since 2008 Nirj Deva has served as the President of the International Committee on Human Dignity for the Rome-based Dignitatis Humanae Institute, and is the Vice-President of the European Parliament's Working Group on Human Dignity since its launch in 2009.