National Assembly for Wales
Video Biography – Text Version | Mohammed Ashgar AM
I am Mohammad Asghar – known as Oscar – and I am honoured to be the first Muslim Member of the National Assembly for Wales.
I was elected as a Plaid Cymru member for South Wales East in May 2007.
I was born in Pashawar, Pakistan, and have lived in Newport for more than 38 years.
I attended Pashawar University, where I was awarded a BA in Political Science. I am a keen follower of sport and I captained the university cricket, athletics and badminton teams.
I later completed an accountancy course at Nash College, Newport, and am now an accountant in public practice and a member of the Institute of Financial Accountants.
My political interests include economic development and I feel strongly about fighting social exclusion. I am the Plaid Assembly spokesman on skills and training. I am also a member of the Finance Committee and the adviser to the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones, on ethnic minority issues.
I enjoy following cricket, athletics and badminton and I hold a pilot’s licence from the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK.
One of my earliest duties as an Assembly Member was to represent the Assembly at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Delhi, where I met the Indian President, Pratibha Patil, and most of the Cabinet Ministers.
My wife, Firdaus, and I have one daughter, Natasha, who was Plaid candidate for Blaenau Gwent at the 2007 Assembly elections.
I enjoy the variety of my Assembly work and I like the chance to meet people from all cultures and all walks of life.
It has really transformed my life and it has given a real first-hand beacon light for the ethnic minority to go forward in the political arena of Welsh politics.
Video Biography
