On Monday 23rd May 2016, Councillor Syeda Amina Khatun MBE was appointed as the Deputy Leader of the Sandwell Council and Councillor Steve Eling was appointed the Leader. Councillor Syeda Amina Khatun MBE is a Labour councillor in the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Councillor Khatun was the first Bangladeshi woman to be elected in the Midlands region in 1999 and was made a Member of the British Empire for her services to Community Development in 2004. Born in Bangladesh, Councillor Khatun arrived in the UK in October 1975. The Tipton Green representative started her first job as an outreach worker for the Education Department in 1986 and later progressed on to becoming a Language Support Tutor and currently is the Chief Executive Officer of the Bangladeshi Women’s Association Limited. Whilst retaining many political and professional portfolios Councillor Khatun has always remained open to serving the entirety of Sandwell’s diverse community and has shown tremendous devotion towards the betterment of the Bangladeshi people in England. Councillor Khatun said ‘my appointment as the deputy leader shows the great respect for diversity and inclusivity within the Sandwell Council and I would like to take this opportunity to encourage the members of the Bangladeshi community nationally to come forward and be a part of this great nations mainstream politics”.