Murad Velshi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Murad Velshi (born April 4, 1935 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990.
Velshi was a master baker and businessman before entering political life. He owned and operated a bakery, a pickle manufacturing plant and other retail businesses in Pretoria, and was the owner of a real-estate company in Kenya. After moving to Canada in 1971, he also established a chain of travel agencies in Ontario and British Columbia, and served as president of the Flemingdon Health Centre. He played a significant role in assisting Ugandan refugees to Canada following Idi Amin's coup d'etat. Velshi has also supported employment equity programs in Canada.
He first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1981 provincial election, and finished a distant second in the Toronto riding of Don Mills against Progressive Conservative incumbent Dennis Timbrell. He ran for Don Mills again in the 1987 election after Timbrell's retirement, and defeated his closest opponent by more than 2,000 votes. From 1987 to 1990, Velshi sat as a backbench supporter of David Peterson's government.
The Liberals were unexpectedly defeated in the 1990 provincial election, and Velshi lost his seat to Margery Ward of the New Democratic Party by 1,004 votes. He attempted to regain the seat in a by-election held on April 1, 1993, but finished a weak second against Progressive Conservative candidates David Johnson. He has not sought a return to the legislature since this time.
Velshi is an Ismaili, and was the first Indo-Canadian to serve in the Ontario legislature. In 1984, Velshi accused federal Liberal leader John Turner of refusing to field minority candidates in Toronto-area ridings. Later, he provided assistance to the Ismaili community in Afghanistan, during a period of persecution by the Taliban.
His son, Ali Velshi, is a business reporter for CNN and host of its business reality television series The Turnaround.
