Sajjad was born in Lancashire in the North West of England in July 1970. His interest in politics began at an early age when he campaigned for a local Conservative politician in his home town during his childhood.
Sajjad qualified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1997. He was made equity partner in the firm where he qualified and has since established two specialist law practices in the North West of England.
Sajjad was elected as a local Councillor to Pendle Borough Council in May 1994, where he served for 8 years holding key chairmanships.
Sajjad was elected to the European Parliament in June 2004 to represent the North West of England and re-elected in June 2009. Sajjad was the first British Muslim to be elected to the European Parliament.
In December 2009, Sajjad was promoted to be the Conservative Legal Affairs Spokesman and the Legal Affairs Coordinator for the European Conservatives and Reformists Group. In addition, he currently sits on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and is a Substitute Member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
He is a member of the Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries, a Member of the Delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and a Substitute member for the Delegation for relations with Canada,
Sajjad holds the following roles in the European Parliament:
- Founding Chairman of the European Parliament Friends of Pakistan Group
- Vice-Chairman of the Local Government Association UK
- Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament Equality and Diversity Intergroup
- Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament Friends of the Commonwealth Group
- Member of the European Parliament Friends of India Group
- Member of the European Parliament Friends of Bangladesh Group
- European Parliament Rapporteur on the free trade agreement with India.
In the previous parliamentary term, Sajjad authored two trade-related European Parliament Reports on EU-India Trade Relations and the EU-India Free Trade Agreement. Both reports maintained the need for human rights to be integral in any trade related agreement that the EU has with a third country.
