Zohran Mamdani

Zohran Kwame Mamdani was born on October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda, the only child of postcolonialist academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair. He was given his middle name, Kwame, by his father in honor of Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. Both his parents are of Indian descent. His father is a Gujarati Muslim who was born in Mumbai and raised in Uganda. His mother is a Punjabi Hindu who was born in Rourkela and raised in Bhubaneswar. His paternal grandparents were born in present-day Tanzania, and his father's family was part of the Indian diaspora in Southeast Africa. and his maternal grandmother, Praveen Nair, was a social worker and founder of the Salaam Baalak Trust in India. Mamdani lived in Kampala until the age of five, when his family moved to Cape Town, South Africa, during the early post-apartheid years. He later said that the experience of living in Cape Town "taught me what inequality looks like up close... [and] that justice has to be more than an idea; it has to be material". The family moved to the United States and settled in New York City when Mamdani was seven, and he was raised in Manhattan's Morningside Heights neighborhood. He has called his upbringing "privileged", saying, "I never had to want for something, and yet I knew that was not in any way the reality for most New Yorkers." As a child, he was often present on his mother's film sets, where he was loved by members of the film crews, who variously called him "Z", "Zoru", "Fadoose", and "Nonstop Mamdani". == Education ==

Mamdani attended the Bank Street School for Children on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where he successfully ran as the independent candidate in a middle school mock election, adopting a platform of "equal rights, anti-war policies that proposed spending money on education rather than the military". In 2003, he returned to Kampala for a year and attended school during his father's sabbatical there; In 2010, Mamdani graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in Kingsbridge Heights, Bronx, where he co-founded the school's first cricket team He also played soccer with the West Side Soccer League. In January 2014, he co-authored an op-ed in the Bangor Daily News urging Bowdoin to join the American Studies Association's boycott of Israel and criticizing the college's president, Barry Mills. Mamdani graduated from Bowdoin in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Africana studies. ==Early career==

2015–2019: Hip-hop and rap Mamdani is a fan of hip-hop and has composed, performed, and produced rap music. Under the moniker Young Cardamom, he collaborated with his best friend, Ugandan rapper HAB (Abdul Bar Hussein), whose origins are in South Sudan, as Young Cardamom & HAB. Their first song, "Kanda [Chap Chap]", was about chapati, an Indian flatbread. They performed tracks from their 2016 EP Sidda Mukyaalo ("No going back to the village") at the Nyege Nyege festival. The pair rapped in languages including Nubi, Luganda, Swahili, and English, partly to create a unique Ugandan style of rap rather than imitating American rap, and partly to convey that Ugandan residents with roots in other countries are all Ugandan. The chapati was chosen as a symbol because it originates in the Indian subcontinent but has become a Ugandan staple. Young Cardamom & HAB were nominated for "Rookie of the Year" at the inaugural Ugandan (UG) Hip Hop Awards. Mamdani curated and produced the soundtrack for his mother Mira Nair's 2016 film Queen of Katwe, for which he was nominated for a 2017 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards; he co-wrote the song "#1 Spice" with HAB for the film. Mamdani also appears as an extra in the film, and is credited as third assistant director. In 2017, Mamdani released the song "Salaam" under the name Zohran Kwame. In the song, Mamdani praised the Holy Land Five, five people connected to the Holy Land Foundation who were convicted of aiding Hamas. In April 2019, under the moniker Mr. Cardamom, he released the single "Nani", an homage to his grandmother. Actress and food writer Madhur Jaffrey portrays Mamdani's grandmother in the video, which pays tribute to Jaffrey and New York's South Asian culture. Specifically, Mamdani attributes his involvement in local politics to a 2015 The Village Voice article about Najmi and Heems, whom he described as one of his favorite rappers. In 2017, Mamdani joined the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and worked for the campaign of New York City Council candidate Khader El-Yateem, a Palestinian Lutheran minister and democratic socialist from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Mamdani served as the campaign manager for Ross Barkan's 2018 unsuccessful bid for the New York State Senate and was also a field organizer for fellow democratic socialist Tiffany Cabán's close-run but also unsuccessful 2019 campaign for Queens County district attorney. Starting in 2018, Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention and housing counselor. There, he assisted lower-income immigrant homeowners in Queens with eviction notices and efforts to prevent them from being evicted from their homes. He said the experience motivated him to run for office to address the housing and affordability crisis. 2020–2025: New York State Assembly , October 27, 2024 In October 2019, Mamdani announced his campaign to represent New York's 36th State Assembly district, which encompasses Astoria and Long Island City in Queens. He was endorsed by the DSA, running on a platform of housing reform, police and prison reform, and public ownership of utilities. and he won the general election with no Republican opposition in November. Mamdani was reelected without opposition in 2022 and 2024. Mamdani was a member of the DSA's nine-member "State Socialists in Office" bloc in New York and a member of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York. He was the keynote speaker at the 2023 DSA convention, saying, "We are special as DSA electeds not because of ourselves; we are special because of our organization". By January 2025, Mamdani was a member of nine Assembly committees: the Committee on Aging; the Committee on Cities; the Committee on Election Law; the Committee on Energy; the Committee on Real Property Taxation; the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus; the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force; the Asian Pacific American Task Force; and the Task Force on New Americans. By May 2025, Mamdani had been the primary sponsor of 20 bills in the Assembly—three of which became law—and the co-sponsor of 238 bills. As a member of the Assembly, he helped launch a successful fare-free bus pilot program and participated in a hunger strike alongside taxi drivers. Due to his campaign, Mamdani had the most absences from the Assembly session of any Democrat, and the second-most overall, after David McDonough. ==Mayor of New York City==

2025 campaign On October 23, 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City. His platform included support for free city buses and a rent freeze in rent-stabilized housing. Mamdani also wants the city government to operate five grocery stores—one in each borough—to drive down grocery prices. His platform included support for universal child care and the construction of 200,000 new affordable housing units. He also supports public safety reform and a $30 minimum wage by 2030. His platform called for tax increases on corporations and on those earning above $1million annually. For most of the primary campaign, Mamdani trailed former New York governor Andrew Cuomo in polling. He and Cuomo raised similar amounts of money, but his donor base was considerably larger than Cuomo's. A poll taken shortly before the June 24, 2025, primary election showed that Mamdani had caught up to Cuomo. First-choice results on election night showed Mamdani had a large lead over Cuomo, who conceded the race that evening. His polling margin was increased by ranked choice voting, particularly because he and third-favored candidate Brad Lander cross-endorsed each other by asking their voters to rank the other candidate second. Mamdani and Michael Blake also cross-endorsed each other a few days later. On June 16, The New York Times editorial board advised voters not to rank Mamdani while criticizing Cuomo. On July 1, after the New York City Board of Elections released its ranked-choice ballot tabulation, the Associated Press announced Mamdani had won the primary. It was considered a major upset. A July 2025 poll indicated a shift in Jewish American political attitudes, with 43% of Jewish New Yorkers and 67% of Jewish voters under 44 planning to support Mamdani—levels of support suggesting waning attachment to traditional pro-Israel politics, but many Jewish leaders and voters remained critical of him. Mamdani's campaign launch drew media attention for its use of Bollywood songs and cultural references, which aimed to engage younger and immigrant voters. in New York City, September 26, 2025 During the primary, Mamdani's campaign was supported by the New Yorkers for Lower Costs super PAC, which spent approximately $1.3 million supporting him and opposing Cuomo before the primary and raised an additional $1 million afterward. The super PAC received $100,000 in contributions from the Unity and Justice Fund in May and June 2025. Cuomo accused Mamdani of accepting "dirty money", saying the Unity and Justice Fund was tied to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. After Mamdani won the primary, criticisms of and attacks against him used racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic tropes, particularly references to the 9/11 attacks and terrorism. These criticisms and attacks came from across the political spectrum, and sparked concern and debate over Islamophobia in mainstream American politics. The success of Mamdani's campaign was attributed in part to his use of social media to reach potential voters, especially younger voters. In early November, President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding for New York City should Mamdani be elected mayor. Mamdani was elected mayor on November 4, 2025. He is the city's youngest mayor since 1892, as well as the city's first Asian American and Muslim mayor. He is also the first foreign-born mayor since Abraham Beame, who was born in the United Kingdom. Mayor-elect and transition at the White House, November 21, 2025 On November 5, 2025, the day after the election, Mamdani announced the first members of his mayoral transition team, with Elana Leopold as executive director, and co-chairs Maria Torres-Springer, the former first deputy mayor; Lina Khan, the former chair of the Federal Trade Commission; and nonprofit executives Melanie Hartzog and Grace Bonilla. On November 10, he announced his selection of former first deputy mayor Dean Fuleihan as his first deputy, and his former Assembly chief of staff and campaign manager Elle Bisgaard-Church as his Chief of Staff. He faced criticism for selecting Catherine Almonte Da Costa as director of appointments after past antisemitic comments of hers resurfaced; Da Costa resigned one day after her appointment. Mamdani met with President Trump at the White House on November 21. A spokesperson said the discussion would focus on public safety, economic security, and affordability. After the meeting, Trump praised Mamdani and said they "agree on a lot more than I would have thought", following months of mutual criticism. Mamdani's mayoralty was expected to be the city's 111th, but a December 2025 review of city archives established that the enumeration of New York City mayors had omitted Matthias Nicoll's second mayoralty, and that Mamdani would therefore be the city's 112th mayor. Tenure Mamdani's mayoralty began on January 1, 2026. New York Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath of office in the abandoned City Hall subway station just after midnight. Mamdani took the oath on the Quran, making him the first mayor of the city to do so. He used two copies of the book, his grandfather's and Arturo Alfonso Schomburg's. A public inauguration was held in the afternoon, at which Mamdani was sworn in by Bernie Sanders. Speakers and performers at the inauguration included Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Javier Muñoz, Lucy Dacus, and Mandy Patinkin. Mamdani's first act as mayor, immediately after taking the oath of office, was to appoint transportation consultant, educator, and former NYC Department of Transportation director of capital planning and project management Mike Flynn as his Department of Transportation commissioner. His first executive order was to revoke all executive orders his predecessor Eric Adams made after he was indicted on bribery charges on September 25, 2024. One week after his inauguration, Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a plan to expand free and low-cost childcare in New York City, with the aim to eventually provide universal free childcare. One of Mamdani's first major challenges as mayor was managing the effects of a January 2026 winter storm, which killed 14 people in New York City. On April 14, 2026, Mamdani announced the La Marqueta marketplace in Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood as the first identified site of his planned city-run grocery stores. The mayor plans to spend roughly $30 million to build the store in the predominantly Latino neighborhood. The five stores planned in each borough are expected to progressively open from 2027 through 2029. == Political positions ==

Mamdani identifies as a democratic socialist, and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Described as a progressive and left-wing populist, his policies have been characterized as center-left and left-wing. His economic platform centers on equity and affordability—supporting debt relief for taxi medallion owners, stronger rent control, tenant protections, and a Social Housing Development Agency to build 200,000 affordable units. In New York City, he advocates raising the local minimum wage to $30 by 2030, implementing higher taxes on corporations and high-income earners to fund free tuition at CUNY and SUNY, universal childcare, city-owned grocery stores, and free public transit, while cutting taxes for outer-borough homeowners and reforming New York's property tax system. Mamdani has cited sewer socialism, a democratic socialist movement centered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the early 20th century, as an inspiration for improving public infrastructure in New York City. Mamdani supported Proposal 1—a successful 2024 ballot measure that banned discrimination based on ethnicity, gender identity, disability, and reproductive rights—and backs single-payer healthcare through the New York Health Act. He argues that "dignified work, economic stability, and well-resourced neighborhoods" prevent harm better than policing, proposing a civilian Department of Community Safety to handle mental health crises and community outreach. He has voiced support for defunding the NYPD and accused the department of racism, for which he later apologized. As a mayoral candidate, he instead emphasized building a cooperative relationship with the department on violent crime prevention while reducing the involvement of police in other matters. Mamdani has condemned dictatorships in Venezuela and Cuba while criticizing US sanctions on those countries. After the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Mamdani called the action "a violation of federal and international law". In January 2026, Mamdani criticized the Iranian regime's violence against anti-government protesters. He has denounced Indian prime minister Narendra Modi as a "war criminal" and remains a critic of Israel and the Gaza genocide, describing its policies as apartheid and supporting the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the country. He co-sponsored the "Not on our dime!" bill to stop New York charities from funding Israeli settler violence. After the October 7 attacks, Mamdani mourned all victims, condemned Hamas's attacks as war crimes, and called for both sides to "lay down their arms" while advocating a permanent ceasefire, the end of Israeli occupation, and the end of ethnocratic policy in favor of "equal rights for all". He said he would attempt to honor the International Criminal Court's warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian president Vladimir Putin if they visit New York City. Mamdani connects environmental justice to social equity. He opposed expansion of the gas-fired Astoria Energy power plant, supports the All-Electric Buildings Act and congestion pricing, and proposed a "Green Schools for a Healthier New York City" plan to retrofit schools with solar panels, create green schoolyards, and establish resilience hubs. His platform includes universal pre-K, baby baskets for new families, defending Hasidic yeshivas' autonomy, expanding sanctuary protections for immigrants, making New York City an LGBTQ+ sanctuary city with an Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, and eliminating bus fares through expanded MTA funding and free transit initiatives. After the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were both killed by federal border patrol agents in January 2026, Mamdani took a strong stance against ICE. He called for the organization's abolition, described Good's and Pretti's killings as murders, and blamed Donald Trump's "year of cruelty" for Good's death. In February 2026, Mamdani signed an executive order requiring ICE agents to get judicial warrants in New York City. ==Personal life==

Mamdani is a dual citizen of Uganda and the United States; he was naturalized in the latter country in 2018. He follows the Twelver branch of Shia Islam. In 2021, Mamdani met animator and illustrator Rama Duwaji through Hinge, an online dating application. They became engaged in October 2024, and were married in February 2025 in a civil ceremony at New York City Hall; they also had a ceremony in Uganda in July 2025. until they moved into Gracie Mansion. Besides English, Mamdani can speak at least five other languages with varying degrees of proficiency: Hindi, Swahili, Luganda, Spanish, and Arabic. He is a fan of the English football team Arsenal and the New York Knicks basketball team, whose games he has attended as part of past campaigns, and also follows cricket and professional wrestling. He is a shareholder of the Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo, having been one of 20,000 people to purchase shares in the club in 2012 as part of a fundraising drive to stave off bankruptcy. Gracie Mansion bombing attempt On March 7, 2026, a homemade explosive device was thrown into the crowd of an anti-Islam protest organized by far-right activist and January 6 United States Capitol attack rioter Jake Lang outside Gracie Mansion, Mamdani's official residence as Mayor of New York City. Police investigated the attack as an "act of ISIS-inspired terrorism". Two men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, were taken into custody, and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York brought federal charges against them. Mamdani condemned the protest, calling it "appalling" and a display of anti-Muslim bigotry rooted in racism. He further added that the "right to peaceful protest is sacred" and "does not belong only to those we agree with". == In popular culture ==

Mamdani was Google's top "People" trending search for 2025. His Wikipedia article was among the 10 most-read in 2025. In the 51st season of Saturday Night Live, Ramy Youssef portrayed Mamdani in a sketch based on the second debate of the 2025 New York City mayoral election. == See also ==