Sir Robert Andrew "Robin" Wales (born 18 January 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the directly elected mayor of the London Borough of Newham from 2002 to 2018. Prior to taking up that newly created role, he was leader of Newham council since 1995, having been a councillor from 1982 to 1986 and 1992 to 2002. Wales became Labour's first directly elected mayor in England in 2002. He was re-elected in 2006, 2010 and 2014. In 2018 he was replaced as Labour's candidate for Mayor by Custom House councillor Rokhsana Fiaz, who won 861 votes in a ballot of Labour Party members to Wales’ 503. During his mayoralty he has said that improving the economic prosperity of Newham's residents has been a priority. In his role as mayor, Wales' visibility has arguably increased since London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, as more than 60% of the Games took place in Newham. However, he has also been involved in a number of controversies during his time as mayor. He currently works with the centre-right think tank Policy Exchange. Background and early career Wales was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, on 18 January 1955. He spent his childhood in Kilmarnock, attending Kilmarnock Academy. He went on to study at Glasgow University and graduated with a BSc in chemistry. Wales joined the Labour Party in 1970, aged 15. He served as chairman of Glasgow University Labour Club in 1975–76. He chaired Scottish Labour Students (SOLS) in 1976–77. SOLS members were renowned for their wresting back control of the National Organisation of Labour Students (NOLS) from the Militant tendency in 1975. Wales was part of the contingent of SOLS which famously took the "ice pick express" (a bus covered in posters of an ice pick – the weapon used to kill Trotsky) to the 1976 NOLS Conference at Lancaster University. Newham council In 1978, Wales moved to the London Borough of Newham and in 1982 was elected to the council, representing Castle ward. He did not contest the 1986 or 1990 elections but was returned as councillor for Little Ilford ward in a 1992 by-election. At the 1994 election he again stood successfully, this time in Manor Park ward, and in 1995 Wales was elected leader of the council. In 1998 he was elected as councillor for Canning Town and Grange ward. From 2000 to 2006,