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Hussein Samatar (Template:Lang-so) was a Somali American politician, 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
Hussein Samatar studied at the Somali National University, receiving his undergraduate degree in 1991. His goal was to work as an economist, but the outbreak of the Somali Civil War four days after his graduation meant that he had to put this off. Samatar left Somalia shortly after the outbreak of war as a means of survival.
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, 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 Rybak renamed a stretch of 5th Street the Samatar Crossing.
References
- ^ "Hussein Samatar". African Development Center of Minnesota. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- Yuen, Laura (3 November 2010). "First Somali-American elected to public office in Minn". MPR News. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- "Hussein Samatar, 45: Pioneering Somali public official dies". St. Paul Pioneer Press. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- Rao, Maya (30 December 2013). "Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak's last act: West Bank walkway". Star Tribune. Retrieved 12 January 2014.