Aamer Sarfraz, Baron Sarfraz Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Sarfraz
Office:Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Term Start:28 September 2020
Life Peerage
Office1:Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Singapore
Term Start1:12 January 2022
Birth Date:25 September 1981
Birth Place:London
Birth Name:Aamer Ahmad Sarfraz
Native Name Lang:ur
Nationality:British
Spouse:Maryam Sayeed Sarfraz

Aamer Ahmad Sarfraz, Baron Sarfraz (Urdu: عامر احمد سرفراز; born 25 September 1981) is a British-Pakistani businessman and politician. He was previously a Conservative Party Treasurer, before being nominated for a life peerage by Boris Johnson in the 2019 Dissolution Honours List.[1]

Background

Sarfraz was born on 25 September 1981 to a Pakistani Muslim family in London. He grew up in Islamabad and migrated to the United Kingdom in 2002. He is a graduate of Boston University, the London School of Economics,[2] and the Royal College of Defence Studies.[3]

Business career

Sarfraz is the founder of NetZeroAg,[4] an agriculture business working with smallholder farmers in Asia. Sarfraz was previously a managing director at The Electrum Group, a private equity firm, and a Venture Partner at Draper Associates, an early-stage technology venture capital firm.[5]

Conservative Party fundraising

As a Conservative Party Treasurer, Sarfraz chaired the Business and Entrepreneurs' Forum, described as 'a network of business leaders that support the Conservative Party', charging £3,000 a year for membership.[6]

Since 2018, he has donated £172,500 to the Conservative Party.[7]

Philanthropy

Sarfraz established The Lord Sarfraz Foundation, which predominantly works with underprivileged communities in Pakistan.[8] The Sarfraz Lecture is held annually at Wolfson College Oxford focusing on the history and culture of Pakistan.[9]

House of Lords

Sarfraz was nominated to the House of Lords on 31 July 2020,[10] and was created Baron Sarfraz, of Kensington in the Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on 8 September 2020.[11] Sarfraz took his seat in the House of Lords on 28 September 2020, and delivered his maiden speech on 19 October 2020.[12] Sarfraz stated that improving relations between Pakistan and the United Kingdom would be a fundamental part of his new work.[13]

Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy

In January 2022, he was appointed as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Singapore.[14]

Committee Appointments

Since January 2021, Sarfraz has been a member of the Science and Technology Committee.[15]

Since March 2023, he has been a member of the AI in Weapon Systems Committee,[16] and since June 2023, a member of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS).[17]

Advocacy

In October 2020, Sarfraz praised the UK government's support for Rohingya Muslims, and called on it to redouble its humanitarian efforts to support religious minorities around the world.[18]

Lord Sarfraz called on the newly established UK Infrastructure Bank to invest directly in companies and “do the difficult direct deals, not outsource their responsibilities to third party fund managers".[19] He has advocated for the launch of a UK Central Bank Digital Currency and for the Chief Executive of the FCA to issue guidance to the crypto industry.[20]

Lord Sarfraz criticised the IMF's strict conditionality on developing countries and said that the UK should use its influence “to ensure the IMF is offering loan terms that countries can accept” and that the IMF “needs to take a radically new approach to its lending practices”.[21]

Sarfraz has called on the UK government to increase support for the alternative proteins sector and in 2022 launched the UK's Alternative Proteins Association.[22]

Arms

Escutcheon:Per pale Argent and Or issuant in base a representation of the Dome of the Prophet’s Mosque at Medina Proper in chief four roses two and two Gules barbed and seeded Proper.[23]
Crest:The top of a mountain per fess lowered indented Argent and Vert ensigned by a decresent Or.
Supporters:Dexter a lion Or sinister a snow leopard Argent spotted Sable.
Motto:Faith, Service

Sarfraz was granted a coat of arms with a baronial coronet by the College of Arms. His shield contains a depiction of the dome of The Prophet's Mosque in Medina, the first such instance in English heraldry. He was also granted heraldic supporters: a lion for the United Kingdom and a snow leopard for Pakistan. His crest features snow-topped mountains in reference to Islamabad, topped by an Islamic crescent.[24]

His motto is "Faith Service".[25]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dissolution Peerages 2019. Gov.uk. 31 July 2020.
  2. Web site: Queen appoints British-Pakistani Aamer Sarfraz as House of Lords member . The Express Tribune (Pakistan) . August 5, 2020 . August 5, 2020.
  3. Web site: Lord Sarfraz . Lord Sarfraz. 22 December 2023.
  4. Web site: NetZeroAg. NetZeroAg. 7 December 2022.
  5. Web site: A Pair of Silicon Valley Venture Veterans Eye SPACs as a Way to Sidestep IPOs. The Street. 31 July 2020.
  6. Web site: Inside the elite Tory fundraising machine. Open Democracy. 2 August 2020.
  7. Web site: Electoral Commission. Electoral Commission. 2 August 2020.
  8. Web site: The Lord Sarfraz Foundation. LordSarfraz.org. 7 December 2022.
  9. Web site: The Sarfraz Lecture. Wolfson College. 7 December 2022.
  10. Web site: Dissolution Peerages 2019. Gov.uk. 31 July 2020.
  11. Web site: Crown Office. The London Gazette. 11 September 2020.
  12. Web site: Hansard. UK Parliament. 29 September 2020.
  13. Web site: Queen appoints British-Pakistani Aamer Sarfraz as House of Lords member . The Express Tribune (Pakistan) . August 5, 2020 . August 5, 2020.
  14. Web site: UK Parliament. 12 January 2022.
  15. Web site: UK Parliament. 29 January 2021.
  16. Web site: UK Parliament. 22 December 2023.
  17. Web site: UK Parliament. 22 December 2023.
  18. Web site: We can't rest in our support for the Rohingya Muslims . The Times) . October 22, 2020. October 22, 2020.
  19. Web site: UK Infrastructure Bank criticised for investing in third party funds. The Financial Times. May 29, 2022. 7 December 2022.
  20. Web site: EU seeks to prevent use of crypto to avoid Russia sanctions. The Financial Times . March 2, 2022. 7 December 2022.
  21. Web site: Next PM should prioritise IMF reform or risk ceding the floor to rivals. August 9, 2022. Politics Home. 11 September 2020.
  22. Web site: The growing appetite for alternative proteins. November 24, 2022. Politics Home. 7 December 2022.
  23. Web site: April 2024 Newsletter (no. 75) . College of Arms . 29 April 2024 .
  24. Web site: UK grants first-ever official 'Coat of Arms' featuring 'Green Dome' . Associated Press of Pakistan . 8 January 2022.
  25. Web site: Coat of Arms . The Lord Sarfraz . 12 January 2022.