Zohran Mamdani is The newly elected mayor of New York City

The newly elected mayor of New York City is Zohran Mamdani, who captured the mayoral seat in the November 4, 2025 general election.

Here’s a detailed background on Zohran Mamdani — his early life, family, education, career, and major milestones.

Early Life & Family

• Born October 18, 1991 in Kampala, Uganda.  

• His father is Mahmood Mamdani, a scholar/anthropologist (of Indian descent) who grew up partly in Uganda.  

• His mother is Mira Nair, a filmmaker (of Indian origin).  

• His full name includes Kwame (Zohran “Kwame” Mamdani) — named in honour of Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah.  

• He spent early childhood in Uganda, then his family moved: when he was about five the family was in Cape Town, South Africa, and by about age seven they settled in New York City (U.S.).  

• He attended elementary/early schooling in New York, including the Bronx High School of Science, where he co-founded his school’s first cricket team.  

• He became a U.S. citizen (naturalized) in 2018.  

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Education

• He earned a bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College (Maine), graduating in 2014.  

• While in college, he co-founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and was politically active on issues like U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine.  

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Early Career & Political Entry

• After college, he worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counselor in Queens, helping low-income homeowners of color fight evictions.  

• This work motivated his interest in housing, affordability, and social justice issues.  

• He entered electoral politics and, in 2020, ran for the New York State Assembly in District 36 (Queens: Astoria, Ditmars-Steinway, etc.).  

• He defeated a long-term Democratic incumbent in the primary and then won the general election.  

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Political Identity & Platform

• He identifies as a democratic socialist (member of or affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America) and places emphasis on affordability, housing, mass transit, public services.  

• Some of his policy priorities include:

• Housing affordability and rent-stabilized protections

• Public transit improvements and fare-free bus pilot programs

• City-owned groceries / tackling cost-of-living pressures  

• He is proud of being one of the first South Asian men, first Ugandan-born, and one of the few Muslims in the NY State Assembly.  

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Personal / Miscellaneous

• He speaks multiple languages aside from English (including Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, Arabic, Luganda) to varying degrees.  

• He has had creative pursuits: for example, he once rapped under the name “Young Cardamom” and collaborated with Ugandan rapper HAB.  

• He lives in Astoria, Queens (NY) in a rent-stabilized apartment, per his profile.  

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Significance

• His background is globally mixed (born in Uganda, raised partly in South Africa & New York, Indian heritage) which shapes his worldview.  

• His rise from community organizing/housing advocacy into elected office reflects a shift in New York politics toward younger, more progressive leadership. 

Official News Sources: AP News, Time, Wikipedia, New York State Assembly, Encyclopedia Britannica, Policost, The Times of India, The Indian Express, Washington Post