Green councillor Hawarun Hussain is to be Deputy Lord Mayor next year - making three firsts in the process.

She will become the first Green councillor to take up a civic role in any metropolitan authority in the country; the first Asian woman to take on the deputy role in Bradford; and the first Bangladeshi councillor in the city to wear any civic chains.

Coun Hussain has represented Shipley since 2004 and sits on the health improvement committee.

The Greens were invited to nominate a Deputy Lord Mayor by the Liberal Democrats who have selected Councillor Howard Middleton to be the Lord Mayor from May next year.

Green group leader Councillor Martin Love said: "The Liberal Democrats have very kindly offered us the opportunity to nominate the Deputy Lord Mayor. I think Coun Hussain will make an absolutely wonderful deputy and she is looking forward to it.

"It makes her the first Green councillor in any metropolitan authority to take on a civic role."

He said the ceremonial role would still allow Coun Hussain to undertake her ward duties.

Both Coun Hussain and Coun Middleton will be formally elected at the Council's annual meeting on May 20, 2008.

Coun Middleton, 46, said: "It's an honour and I am delighted. I've been in the council for 12 years now and was one of the youngest when I was first elected."

He has been a councillor for the Bolton ward, and then Bolton and Undercliffe since 1996. He is currently the group whip and was previously chairman of Bradford North Area Committee. He is married to Colleen Middleton, who also served as a Liberal Democrat councillor in Bradford between 1999 and 2003.

He used to be an insolvency accountant, then retrained as a further education lecturer, but has been a full time councillor for the last three years.

He is a governor at Wellington Primary School in Dudley Hill, and a director of Community Works children's centre in Undercliffe. He is also the Liberal Democrat representative on the West Yorkshire Pension Fund.

"Between us we'll collectively be one of the younger civic teams," he said.