New High Sheriff of Oxfordshire Announced

The Bishop of Oxford and Bishop-Designate of Dorchester congratulate Imam Monawar Hussain MBE DL FRSA on his appointment as the next High Sheriff of Oxfordshire

12 March 2021Imam Monawar Hussain MBE DL FRSA has been announced as Oxfordshire's new High Sheriff , succeeding the current High Sheriff, Mrs Amanda Ponsonby MBE.

Monawar will officially take up his position on 8 April, following a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The office of High Sheriff is an independent non-political royal appointment made by the Queen which dates back to Saxon times, but has evolved to include a mix of ceremonial, charitable and community functions. Monawar is a Muslim chaplain at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a tutor at Eton College and well known across the diocese.

He founded The Oxford Foundation - a charity that promotes religious and racial harmony through educational and arts-based activities.

He has also devised, pioneered and successfully steered a unique programme that confronts violent extremist ideology, which has been used to train religious education teachers in the UK. Congratulating Imam Monawar, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford, and the Venerable Gavin Collins, Bishop-Designate of Dorchester, said,

"On behalf of the Diocese of Oxford, we offer our heartfelt congratulations to Imam Monawar Hussain as High Sherriff of Oxfordshire for the coming year.

Monawar is well known, loved and respected across the Thames Valley for his outstanding work in the University of Oxford, in schools and as a hospital chaplain, as well in the wider community and with all faith communities.

We look forward very much to working with him in his shrieval year. "

Although I won't be invoking age old powers to tackle lawlessness or raise taxes, I will be seeking to support the judiciary, the police, emergency services and all our communities of faith or no faith in the county. "Find out more at news. oxfordshire. gov. uk/new-high-sheriff.