Dr Robina Shah, a British-Muslim woman of Pakistani origin and senior lecturer at The University of Manchester, has been officially installed as The High Sheriff of the region on April 12, 2018 during a formal ceremony at the University’s Whitworth Hall. Every year a parchment is presented to the Queen of England by the chancellor of Duchy with the recommended names of those who wish to become High Sheriffs for the subsequent year. The Queen in return marks the chosen name using a small hole made by a bodkin in a ceremony believed to date back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The office of High Sheriff is a year-long independent non-political Royal appointment, where Dr Shah will be responsible for the maintenance of law and order within the shire, or county, and for the collection and return of taxes due to the Crown. She will also support charities and organisations working with young people and other vulnerable members of the community.