Londoners
voted in Khan, 45, as the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital
city. He will take office in a metropolis where his fellow Muslims
comprise about 12% of the population.
His
victory followed an unusually bitter campaign against Conservative
candidate Zac Goldsmith, the son of a billionaire, in which race and
religion have proven ugly flashpoints.
The London-born son of Pakistani
immigrants, Khan grew up with his six brothers and sister in a
three-bedroom, public housing apartment. He studied law, became a
university lecturer and the chairman of a civil liberties group, and was
elected to Parliament in 2005.
Affordable
housing in a city increasingly drawing the super-rich, aging
infrastructure and transportation are top issues facing the new mayor.
Khan is replacing incumbent Boris Johnson, a colorful and popular figure
who took office in 2008 and was a rare Conservative mayor in the
Labour-leaning British capital.
Johnson is leading the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union
at a referendum on June 23. He is clashing with Prime Minister David
Cameron, who is in favor of the United Kingdom remaining
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