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Hussein Samatar (Template:Lang-so) was a Somali American banker and community organizer. In 2004 he left the corporate world to launch the African Development Center so as to provide microloans and technical expertise to emerging African immigrant businesses.
Biography
Samatar completed his undergraduate studies from Somalia’s National University in 1991. But just four days after graduating, he had to shelve his dreams of being an economist because of a civil war that erupted in his homeland. Hussein Samatar fled the civil war of his East African homeland nearly two decades ago, with basic survival as his only concern.
As part of the first wave of Somali refugees in Minnesota, he learned English with the help of a Minneapolis librarian. Eventually, he earned his Master’s in business administration from the University of St. Thomas. Prior to his leadership with the African Development Center, Mr. Samatar worked as a commercial banker with Wells Fargo and Norwest Banks. He started ADC with extensive experience in banking institutions, as well as a deep regard for community economic development.
He was selected as a Humphrey Institute Policy Fellow in 2003–2004 and a German Marshall Memorial Fellow in 2007. He successfully completed the Achieving Excellence in Community Economic Development program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Additionally, Samatar first entered public office when Mayor R.T. Rybak appointed him to the Minneapolis Library Board of Trustees in 2006. Rybak remembers him as “an extraordinary leader” and real friend. In 2010, Samatar was the first Somali-American in Minnesota, and most likely the country, to be elected to public office when he won a seat on the Minneapolis school board.
Death
On August 25, 2013, Samatar died following complications from leukemia. In a statement, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said one of his greatest pleasures as mayor was getting to know Samatar. “He has been an extraordinary leader and a real friend,” Rybak said. “I am heartsick about losing him, but I will look for solace in knowing how many people he helped.” In a last act outgoing Mayor Ryback renamed a stretch of 5th Street the Samatar Crossing.
References
- ^ "Hussein Samatar". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- Yuen, Laura. "First Somali-American elected to public office in Minn". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- "Hussein Samatar, 45: Pioneering Somali public official dies". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- "Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak's last act: West Bank walkway". Retrieved 12 January 2014.