Wikipedia

Yassamin Ansari

American politician

Yassamin Ansari (born April 7, 1992) is an American climate change activist and politician who is the member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives for Arizona's 3rd congressional district.

Yassamin Ansari
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arizona's 3rd district
Assuming office
January 3, 2025
SucceedingRuben Gallego
Member of the Phoenix City Council
from the 7th district
In office
April 19, 2021 – March 28, 2024
Preceded byMichael Nowakowski
Succeeded byCarlos Galindo-Elvira
Personal details
Born (1992-04-07) April 7, 1992 (age 32)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationStanford University (BA)
St. John's College, Cambridge (MPhil)

Ansari was a member of the Phoenix City Council from 2021 to 2024.[1][2][3] At the time of her election, she was the youngest person to be elected to the council and the first Iranian American elected to public office in Arizona.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

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In February 2023, Ansari was seen as a possible candidate to run to represent Arizona's 3rd congressional district in the United States Congress.[5][6] Two months later in April, she announced her candidacy.[7] She ran as a Democrat.[8][9][10]

Ansari won the Democratic nomination in August 2024, beating former State Senator Raquel Terán by 39 votes.[11][12] Ansari would go on to win the general election in November 2024, beating Republican Jeff Zink in a landslide.[13] With her victory, she became the first Iranian American Democrat elected to U.S. Congress and the second Iranian American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.[14]

Personal life

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Ansari was born on April 7, 1992. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Iran.[4][15] In high school, she organized for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. She went to Stanford University. During college, Ansari interned for Nancy Pelosi.[16][17]

After finishing college, she began working for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.[17] She worked as a senior policy advisor with Ban, spending a year working on the Paris Agreement, and later worked with Ban's successor, António Guterres.[1] She later studied at St. John's College, Cambridge.[18]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Phoenix City Council chooses vice mayor for 2023". The Daily Independent at YourValley.net. January 5, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  2. ↑ "City Council District 7 Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari". www.phoenix.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  3. ↑ Fernandez, Madison (2023-08-21). "What to expect when you're expecting (to miss the first debate)". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kavaler, Tara (April 4, 2023). "Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari running for Congress". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  5. ↑ Duda, Jeremy (2023-01-24). "Democratic primary for open House seat left by Gallego's Senate run could get crowded". Axios. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  6. ↑ "Journalist's Roundtable: Ruben Gallego runs for Senate". Arizona PBS. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  7. ↑ "Phoenix Vice Mayor Ansari announces run for Congress". The Daily Independent at YourValley.net. April 4, 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  8. ↑ Irwin, Lauren (2023-07-24). "Open, targeted House seats drive fundraising as numerous hopefuls line up". Cronkite News. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  9. ↑ Feinberg, Allie (August 11, 2023). "Ylenia Aguilar has suspended her congressional campaign for Rep. Ruben Gallego's seat". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  10. ↑ Gibson, Brittany (2023-07-25). "Progressive Working Families Party backs candidate to replace Rep. Ruben Gallego". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  11. ↑ Duda, Jeremy (August 29, 2023). "Ansari and Terán likely to dominate CD3 race following Pastor's departure". Axios. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  12. ↑ "2024 Arizona Election Results". AP News. August 3, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Arizona Third Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Making History: Yassamin Ansari Elected to the U.S. Congress". PAAIA.org. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  15. ↑ Siddiqui, Daniya (2023-08-16). "From councilwoman to congressional campaign: Vice mayor Yassamin Ansari's political journey". High School Insider. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  16. ↑ Fifield, Jen; Taros, Megan (February 11, 2021). "Southwest Phoenix will decide a critical District 7 City Council race. Voting begins this week". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Fifield, Jen. "Phoenix City Council's District 7 contenders Yassamin Ansari, Cinthia Estela talk experiences, respond to critics". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  18. ↑ Thompson, Claire (2021-06-15). "Why this U.N. climate expert ran for city council". Fix. Grist. Retrieved 2023-02-01.

Other websites

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  Media related to Yassamin Ansari at Wikimedia Commons


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