New Stockton mayor is first from Teesside's BAME community
Watch Andrew Misra's report.
The appointment of the Teesside's first Asian mayor has been hailed as "history in the making".
Cllr Mohammed Javed was made the mayor of Stockton in a virtual council meeting - becoming the first Black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) man on Teesside to hold the ceremonial post.
Cllr Javed became the borough's first Asian councillor in 2007 - and his Labour colleague Cllr Louise Baldock looked back on his career so far before he was officially appointed the new mayor.
The member for Parkfield and Oxbridge was born in 1960 in Kashmir after his family was forced off its land in the partition of India in 1947.
Councillors were told how he worked up through poverty - moving to Karachi, in Pakistan, to take his A-levels before moving to Abu Dhabi and then working in the NHS in England.
Cllr Baldock said:
Cllr Javed moved to Stockton in 1983 and started a family with his wife, Shabana.
He gained a degree from Durham University before working in the NHS for 13 years helping people with disabilities and embarking on his political career.
Cllr Baldock told councillors he won a public speaking competition in Kashmir when aged 10 - with the award gifted by the Prime Minister of Kashmir.
She said:
Cllr Javed is also understood to be the first Asian mayor in the North-east..
Cllr Baldock added he had worked "tirelessly" in Parkfield and Oxbridge - and was confident he would do the same as mayor.
Cllr Javed is the first Asian mayor on Teesside - but he isn't the first to wear the robes of office.
Former Gresham councillor Javed Ismail became "chairman of Middlesbrough Council" in 2004.
But after 2002, Middlesbrough couldn't have two mayors - with Ray Mallon the elected mayor of Middlesbrough at the time.
Council leader Cllr Bob Cook hailed Cllr Javed's nomination as mayor as "history in the making".
He said:
Cllr Javed replaced Conservative Cllr Lynn Hall in the post - with Cllr Kevin Faulks, of the Ingleby Barwick Independent Society (IBIS), chosen as deputy mayor for the upcoming year.
The new mayor said he would try his best to follow in Cllr Hall's footsteps in raising money for charity - adding he hoped to promote the borough both nationally and internationally.
He added:
Cllr Hall raised £20,048.78 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service and NeoAngels during her time as mayor - with the money split evenly between the charities.
The outgoing mayor also made a donation of £2,000 to Butterwick Hospice Care, raised £1,000 for the Mayor's Benevolent Fund - which supports local organisations and groups - as well as raising £1,987.80 for the borough's three Armed Forces Freedom Regiments.
Meanwhile, the new mayor has selected a number of charities to benefit from his fundraising activities this year:
Great North Air Ambulance Service
The Halo Project - which supports victims of honour-based violence, forced marriages and female genital mutilation (FGM)
Macmillan Cancer Support - providing specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer