Profile: British Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn was elected as the new leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party on Saturday.

The following is his profile.

Corbyn was born on May 26, 1949 in Chippenham, Wiltshire, southwest England.

He briefly took a degree course at North London Polytechnic.

He left school at the age of 18, and later worked for two trade unions as an official.

His political career began in 1974 when he was elected to Haringey Council, where he served as Secretary of the Islington Labour Party.

In 1983, Corbyn was elected as the member of parliament (MP) for Islington North.

The left-winger is very involved with various different groupings in parliament, including the Socialist Campaign Group, PCS (Public Commercial Services), RMT (Rail, Maritime Transport Workers Union), Fire Brigades Union (FBU), National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Justice Unions, Family Court Union, Trade Union Group, the Performers Alliance, and Defend Council Housing.

The priorities of his political career include justice, human rights, peace, welfare, transport, health and NHS, economy, housing, environment and education.

He married three times and has three sons from earlier marriage. Bicycle is his daily transportation tool. He has been a vegetarian since the age of 20.

Corbyn was awarded the Gandhi Foundation International Peace Award on Nov. 26, 2013, in recognition of his consistent efforts over a 30-year Parliamentary career to uphold the Gandhian values of social justice and non-violence.

On Saturday, he beat three contenders in the leadership race, two of them high level members of Labour's front-bench team.

Corbyn captured 251,417 votes, just under 60 percent of the 422,664 votes cast.

Source: XINHUA