Shakira Martin (NUS president)
British student politician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shakira Martin (born 1988) is a British student politician and former president of the National Union of Students.[1]
Shakira Martin | |
---|---|
59th President of the National Union of Students | |
In office 3 July 2017 – 3 July 2019 | |
Preceded by | Malia Bouattia |
Succeeded by | Zamzam Ibrahim |
Vice President for Further Education | |
In office 23 April 2015 – 3 July 2017 | |
Preceded by | Joe Vinson |
Succeeded by | Emily Chapman |
Personal details | |
Born | 1988 (age 35–36) |
Alma mater | Lewisham and Southwark College |
In April 2017, Martin, the union's vice-president for further education, defeated the incumbent Malia Bouattia, receiving 56% of the vote.[1] After widespread discontentment with Bouattia's leadership of the NUS, Martin pledged "unity", "pragmatism", and to put the "NUS back into the hands of its membership".[2] She describes herself as a black working-class single mother, and comes from a Jamaican family background.[1] She was the first Black female NUS president and first woman from the African-Caribbean community to serve as NUS President, and the second not to have studied at university.[3]
In March 2018, Martin was re-elected to a second term with 51% of the vote in the first round.[4][5]