Sir Robert Andrew "Robin" Wales was born on 18 January 1955 and is a British Labour Party politician who served as Mayor of Newham from 2002 to 2018.
24 Facts About Robin Wales
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Robin Wales was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, on 18 January 1955.
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Robin Wales spent his childhood in Kilmarnock, attending Kilmarnock Academy.
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Robin Wales went on to study at Glasgow University and graduated with a BSc in chemistry.
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Robin Wales was part of the contingent of SOLS which famously took the "ice pick express" to the 1976 NOLS Conference at Lancaster University.
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In 1978, Robin Wales moved to the London Borough of Newham and in 1982 was elected to the council, representing Castle ward.
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Robin Wales did not contest the 1986 or 1990 elections but was returned as councillor for Little Ilford ward in a 1992 by-election.
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At the 1994 election he again stood successfully, this time in Manor Park ward, and in 1995 Robin Wales was elected leader of the council.
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From 2000 to 2006, Robin Wales served as chairman of the Association of London Government, known as London Councils since 2006.
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Robin Wales was recognised in the 2000 Birthday Honours, receiving a knighthood for his services to local government.
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Robin Wales easily won a third term in 2010, with 64,748 votes.
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Robin Wales was part of the London 2012 Board which was involved in the Olympic and Paralympic Games bid for London.
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Robin Wales has held a position on the Boards of both the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which was renamed the London Legacy Development Corporation in 2012.
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Robin Wales chaired the Six Host Boroughs group which represented the interests of those boroughs most affected by the 2012 Games.
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In 2014 Robin Wales was elected for a fourth term as mayor.
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In 2016 Robin Wales won a vote of party members and affiliates to automatically re-select him as Labour candidate for the 2018 mayoral election, rather than holding an open selection.
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In 2018 Robin Wales was de-selected by the Newham Labour Party to be their candidate in the mayoral election, losing to Custom House councillor Rokhsana Fiaz by 861 votes to Robin Wales' 503.
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Robin Wales has said he is committed to helping residents benefit from economic development in Newham, particularly in terms of employment and skills.
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Robin Wales is often cited as believing the Olympics forms only one part of the transformation of Newham and the wider East End.
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Robin Wales believes that local employment opportunities are a critical success factor of regeneration projects.
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Robin Wales has named Canary Wharf and the Olympic Delivery Authority's construction of the Olympic Park as two examples where local people have benefitted less than hoped from the job opportunities created.
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Robin Wales was involved in a bitter battle with the Friends of Queen's Market, which represented the market traders at Queen's Market.
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Robin Wales later apologised to the Focus E15 families about the dispute.
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Once the party affiliates' votes were added, the result was turned in favour of Robin Wales being the only Labour candidate permitted to stand in the 2018 election.