Bradford will have its third Asian Lord Mayor next year.

Councillor Choudhary Rangzeb will follow in the footsteps of Councillors Mohammed Ajeeb in 1985 and Ghazanfer Khaliq in 2000.

Bradford's political parties take turns to make a nomination to the civic role of first citizen and the position will be held by a Labour group member in 2006-07.

Councillor Rangzeb (Lab, Manningham) has now formally nominated and is expected to take up the role after being inaugurated by Council next year.

He was first elected in 1988 and has represented the Toller, City and Manningham wards during two spells as a Councillor.

Coun Rangzeb describes himself as a full-time councillor but is also a governor at Lister Primary School and a property developer.

His Council duties include deputy chairman of the Council's regeneration and economy improvement committee and he also serves on the social services appeals panel, the hackney carriages

and private hire panel and the education

appeals panel.

He served as deputy mayor to the Lord Mayor Councillor Irene Ellison-Wood two years ago and said the work then prepared him for the busy

year ahead.

Coun Rangzeb said: "It will be an honour and a privilege to serve as Lord Mayor. The district is going through a time of great change and faces many new challenges and I am delighted that I will be able to play a prominent role as first citizen in such exciting times.

"I intend to use my time as Lord Mayor to project a strong, positive and confident image of Bradford."

His wife Zaheda Parveen Rangzeb will be mayoress and he admitted: "She is looking forward to it even more than I am. She really enjoyed being deputy mayoress and I think she will be very good at it."

He will take over from Lord Mayor Councillor Valerie Binney (Con, Thornton and Allerton) at a ceremony in City Hall on May 23.

Labour group leader Councillor Ian Greenwood said: "Coun Rangzeb has given many years of

distinguished service to the community and I know that he will make a superb ambassador for the district."

Councillor John Godward (Great Horton), Labour's longest serving councillor, has been nominated to act as Deputy Lord Mayor.