WE-ASC

Lord Diljit Rana is a successful businessman in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is Chairman and Chief Executive of Andras House Group, Northern Ireland’s biggest hotels and hospitality organisation. Born at Sanghol in Punjab, Lord Rana has lived in Northern Ireland since 1966. His achievements are listed below:-

• He was appointed to the House of Lords in 2004 by the then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in recognition of his work in driving the successful regeneration of Belfast city centre and his efforts to encourage political dialogue in Northern Ireland. This dialogue ended 30 years' of terrorism.
• Lord Rana, was appointed by Government of India as Honorary Consul for India in Northern Ireland in 2004.
• He was elected President of GOPIO International in 2009.
• The first ethnic businessman to be elected President of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, the region's biggest business organisation.
• Lord Rana has actively promoted business, education, political and cultural links between India and Northern Ireland, leading a series of business missions from Northern Ireland to India.
• He holds honorary degrees from the region’s two universities, Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster, as well as the Bengal Engineering and Science University.
• He was awarded a Pravasi Bharti Samman Award by Dr Abdul Kalam, then President of India, in 2007 for his work in promoting such relationships and in recognition of his longstanding commitment to education in India, where he is building an education complex.
• Lord Rana also holds awards for enterprise from the Confederation of British Industry in the UK and from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board for his work to promote tourism.
• He has been given various awards in recognition of his work in economic regeneration of Belfast, peace efforts, towards business and for developing educational and cultural links between Northern Ireland and India. He is one of the top N.R.I philanthropists in the United Kingdom.

At a time when business investors were afraid to invest in Belfast because of the terrorist attacks, Lord Rana developed a range of commercial properties for offices, shops and restaurants.

This confidence in the future of Belfast particularly in the eighties was crucially important in reviving business activity in the city.

He was the driving force in what became known as ‘The Golden Mile’, the entertainment heart of Belfast. He was also instrumental in the development of ‘Harmony’, an iconic statue of peace and reconciliation which is at the core of the city’s Thanksgiving Square.

The Education Complex provides university level education in disciplines such as Humanities, ICT, Business Management and Hotel and Hospitality Management. It also includes colleges and a Indian Heritage Institute. The complex has 900 students.

Lord Rana is funding the development of the complex through his own charitable trust. He is also planning to build a maternity hospital. The complex is being developed in consultation with the village community.