Rana Bokhari (born October 23, 1977) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada who was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 2013 until 2016.
Bokhari moved to Pakistan in 2002, living there with her family until she returned to Winnipeg in 2006.Robson Hall Student Profiles Her childhood home and family chicken farm were lost to a fire in 2012.
The victory made Rana Bokhari the youngest person ever to lead the Manitoba Liberals and the first Manitoban of South Asian descent to lead a political party in the province.
She faced internal criticism from party members and former leadership challenger Bob Axworthy, who accused Bokhari of "purging" longtime Manitoba Liberal members as she solidified control of the party. Party membership and fundraising struggled under Bokhari,.
Bokhari committed to making Manitoba the "hub of something" in her year end interview with the Winnipeg Free Press. She explained "I want Manitoba to be the IT capital of this country or the innovation capital of this country."
In 2014 Bokhari endorsed Winnipeg mayoral candidate Brian Bowman in the 2014 Winnipeg Municipal election.
In the 2016 Manitoba general election Bokhari finished third in Fort Rouge, behind future Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew. On May 7, 2016, Bokhari announced that she would not lead the party into the next election but would remain on as leader until her successor was chosen. She ultimately resigned as leader, effective September 24, 2016, and opened a law practice, Bokhari, Smith and Walker, the same month.
On May 31, 2022, Bokhari announced her intention to run for Mayor of Winnipeg in the city's 2022 civic election, which was held October 26, 2022. She placed seventh, with 3.03% of the vote (5,900 votes).
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