Lord Swaraj Paul Receives London Zoo’s Highest Honour

Indian born Britain based Businessman, Philanthropist and UK parliamentarian Lord Swaraj Paul was conferred with the London Zoo’s highest honour in recognition of his continuous support for the institution.

In the year 1993 Lord Swaraj Paul, founder chairman of the Caparo Group has donated 1 million pounds to the Zoo, to prevent it from closure because of the financial constraints. Subsequently, to support its survival he made several other donations for various projects of the zoo.

The British-Indian entrepreneur, who is also known as Baron Paul received the prestigious Zoological Society of London’s Honorary Fellowship for 2019 this week thus joining a select band of distinguished personalities from across the world such as Prince Philip, former Japan Emperor Akihito and veteran Sir David Attenborough who were honored similarly in 1977, 1991 and 1998 respectively.

The citation that was read out during the award ceremony said, “For the last 30 years, Lord Paul’s support has been key in enabling ZSL and our Zoos to inspire, empower and inform people about wildlife and conservation. Through the Ambika Paul Foundation, ZSL has received a number of transformational gifts towards projects at ZSL London Zoo”.

“We gratefully acknowledge the commitment, generosity and dedication of Lord Paul and his family to ZSL's purpose and we are delighted to present Lord Paul with the Society's Honorary Fellowship”, it said.

Swaraj Paul is one of the richest Indians in the United Kingdom, who has been awarded time to time for his achievements and contribution towards the development of society both in UK and India.

At the start of this year, he was awarded for his lifetime contribution in the Midlands region that is home to a large Indian diaspora. Paul also received the Lifetime Contribution-Midlands Business Awards 2019 from Har Sandher, founder of the awards, at an event in Leicester on March 8 this year.

A member of the House of Lords, Swaraj Paul is the founder of Caparo Group of industries. He set up his first companies in Birmingham in the early 1960s.

During an event this year, he recalled the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian community in the region and said, “I first began business in the Midlands nearly 50 years ago. It was then a very different place but there was a feature that I found particularly encouraging it was a region of opportunity.”

He also added, “In the decades since then, we have had good times and difficult times, but that attribute remains an essential part of our commercial and social DNA and it is what sustains our economic environment; and we must nourish it”. 

88-year-old Paul is also the Chancellor of the University of Wolver Hampton, which is one of the leading institutions of higher studies in the region. Swaraj Paul is also the first person of Indian origin to hold the post of deputy speaker of the House of Lords. In the year 1983, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Indira Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India.