Ugandan-born Zohran Mamdani Becomes New York City's History-Making New Mayor

This article was initially published on June  25, 2025 and updated with the election results on November 5, 2025.

Following New York City's election yesterday, November 4, Zohran Mamdani has won the race of becoming mayor — a historic win, as he will be the first Muslim, the first person of South Asian descent and the first person born in Africa to lead the city.

“Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. The future is in our hands,” Mamdani shared in a new speech as the new mayor-elect. “My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.” 

Mamdani, who won the Democratic Party's nomination in June, had celebrated with a popular quote that is often attributed to former South African President Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it is done.”

His invocation of the famous quote is fitting, considering he ran against the much more experienced Andrew Cuomo, the former New York state governor who resigned from that office after being embroiled in a sexual harassment case. Despite the scandal, Cuomo received super PAC funding and endorsements. However, Mamdani ran a citizen-focused campaign centered around making New York City more affordable for its residents.

Mamdani, who currently serves as a New York state assemblymember, has strong ties to Africa beyond his middle name. He was born and partly raised in Kampala, Uganda. At the age of 7, he moved to New York, having previously lived in Cape Town, South Africa, for two years. His father was born in India and raised in Uganda, then moved to the U.S. for college as part of a group of 27 Ugandan students offered scholarships by the American government, a gift given to Uganda after it secured its independence.

“There’s no question in my mind that I’m Ugandan. There’s no question in my mind that I’m Indian. And there’s no question in my mind that I’m a New Yorker,” Mamdani told Africa Is a Country back in 2018, sharing that he’s learned to embrace the multiplicity of his heritage.

That cultural diversity was evident in his campaign, as he managed to galvanize support from white, Asian, and Latino voters in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Mamdani connected with many thanks to his vibrant campaign run, which saw him passionately discuss issues in a variety of settings, ranging from conventional speeches to a video of him jumping into the incredibly cold Atlantic Ocean as a sign of his plan to ensure a rent freeze for millions of New Yorkers.

Before being elected as an assemblymember, Mamdani was a foreclosure-prevention conselor, primarily working with low-income homeowners and tenants. He also moonlighted as a rapper under the pseudonym Young Cardamom. In 2016, he released a joint EP with Ugandan rap artist HAB, titled Sidda Mukyaalo, a conscious exploration of Uganda’s social terrain, ranging from its political situation to the relationships between black and brown people in the country.

Mamdani has attributed part of his grasp of societal context and drive for positive change to his father, Mahmood, who was arrested for participating in the civil rights protests in Montgomery, Alabama, while he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh in the 1960s. Mahmood had joined students who made the long, cross-country trip down south to join campaigners; however, when he called the Ugandan embassy for help to be bailed out, he was rebuked for interfering in U.S. matters.

Mahmood is an accomplished commentator, author, and educator. He chaired the Center for African Studies at the University of Cape Town in the mid-1990s. He served as the director of the Institute of Social Research at Makerere University between 2010 and 2022.

Zohran Mamdani’s mother is the iconic Indian American filmmaker Mira Nair, director of the classic romantic drama Mississippi Masala and the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! Nair was born and raised in India, then moved to the U.S. for college and became an American citizen in 2006. She met Mahmood in Kampala while doing research for Mississippi Masala.

In his celebratory speech after winning the nomination, Mamdani thanked his parents for their support, joking that he could now call them by their first names because he is a Democratic Party mayoral candidate. 

Today, his ultimate goal of winning the mayoral election is achieved. It was a stiff race. But for a candidate with strong convictions and captivating personality, doing the impossible has become the norm for Zohran Kwame Mamdani.