07/11/2025
𝗭𝗼𝗵𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗺𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗶
Party & Political Identity
He is a member of the Democratic Party in the U.S.
He also identifies as a democratic socialist, and is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America.
His political brand is very progressive: heavy on affordability, housing justice, public transit, etc.
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Education
Born 18 Oct 1991 in Kampala, Uganda.
He lived in Cape Town (South Africa) for a bit, then moved to New York City at age 7.
He graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine with a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies (2014).
Before politics, he worked as a housing-counselor / foreclosure-prevention worker in Queens, NY.
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Religion
He is Muslim. More precisely, he identifies as Shia Muslim (Twelver branch).
His background is multicultural: his father is from the Indian diaspora in East Africa, his mother is Indian-origin filmmaker.
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Biography / Key Highlights
Full name: Zohran Kwame Mamdani.
Family: Father – Mahmood Mamdani, a well-known anthropologist; Mother – Mira Nair, award-winning filmmaker.
Political career:
Elected to the New York State Assembly representing District 36 (Queens) starting Jan 1 2021.
In 2024–25, he ran for Mayor of New York City and became the Democratic Party nominee via upset win over Andrew Cuomo in June 2025.
His campaign platform: e.g., rent-freeze for stabilized units, free city buses, building hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units.
Significance: If elected mayor, he would (and did) become NYC’s first Muslim mayor and first Indian-origin mayor, and one of the youngest in its history.
Personal tidbits: He has a background in hip-hop/rapping under the name “Mr. Cardamom” / “Young Cardamom”.
Citizenship: Though born abroad (Uganda), he became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 2018.
His political persona: Called a “political earthquake” in NYC because of how quickly he rose.
