Personal History

Fawzi Ibrahim has lived and worked in Brent East for over 33 years. He married Valerie who worked at Smiths Industries in Cricklewood in 1969. They have three children and now one grandson; all of the children went to Brent state Schools and all still live in the area.

Fawzi arrived in Britain from Iraq in 1959, aged 16, to study electrical and electronic engineering at what was then Woolwich Polytechnic.

Upon finishing his degree, the Baath Party had captured power in Iraq and Fawzi found himself stateless, his passport was withdrawn and Iraqi nationality revoked.

Fawzi continued to live in the UK and worked in several engineering firms including Siemens and British Relay. He returned to university in 1966 to study economics and finally found his vocation as a lecturer at the College of North West London (then known as Willesden College of Technology) in September 1970. By now, Fawzi had realised that Britain was his home and he set out to make his contribution to British society.

At the College of North West London he pioneered courses on Digital Television and DVD and was instrumental in establishing the Digital Village. His expertise in Digital Television took him on a 4-week lecture tour to Australia organised by Melbourne University in August 2000.

Fawzi is the author of several books on electronics and computers and has contributed to the monthly trade magazine TELEVISION on several occasions.

Fawzi has made a distinctive contribution to his trade union (the lecturers' union, NATFHE) often providing decisive leadership under difficult circumstances. He was elected to several local and national posts including chair of the local branch, the secretary of Outer London Region and a member of the National Executive. Currently he is the National Treasurer of the Union, a position to which he has been re-elected by the national membership for the last six years.