back to Awards & NomineesThe Inspiration Awards - Shami Chakraburti

Graduating from the London School of Economics gaining an LLB, Chakrabarti worked as a barrister at the Home Office from 1996 after qualifying as a barrister in 1994, before joining Liberty on 10 September 2001. She is an alumna of the British-American Project, which promotes Anglo-American relations.

She spent the following two years campaigning against the anti-terrorist measures which followed the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, such as Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA), and is a prominent opponent of recent counter-terrorism legislation. She is a frequent contributor to BBC Radio 4 and to various newspapers on the topic of human rights and civil liberties.

In December 2005, the BBC Radio 4 Today programme ran a poll of listeners to establish "who runs Britain". After many hours of debate involving subject matter experts, today placed Shami Chakraburti on the shortlist of ten people who may run Britain. Listeners were then invited to vote for their choice, choosing President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso in a poll which the Euro sceptic United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) later admitted to rigging.

She was short listed in the Channel 4 Political Awards 2006 for the "Most Inspiring Political Figure" award. It was voted for by the public and she came second to Jamie Oliver, beating Tony Blair, David Cameron, George Galloway and Bob Geldof.

he is Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, a Governor of the London School of Economics and the British Film Institute, and a Visiting Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple. She is also a governor of the Ditchley Foundation. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours.