Yassamin Ansari
Yassamin Ansari | |
|---|---|
ياسمين انصاری | |
Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 3rd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Ruben Gallego |
| Member of the Phoenix City Council from the 7th district | |
| In office April 19, 2021 – March 28, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Nowakowski |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Galindo-Elvira |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 7, 1992 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) St. John's College, Cambridge (MPhil) |
Yassamin Ansari (born April 7, 1992) is an American climate change activist and politician who is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Arizona's 3rd congressional district since 2025.
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
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]
In November 2024, Ansari was elected the Democratic freshman class president.[15] Ansari chose to boycott Donald Trump's inauguration, choosing instead to attend a Martin Luther King Jr. Day March in Phoenix, in her district.[16]
Personal life
Ansari was born on April 7, 1992. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Iran.[4][17] In high school, she organized for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. She went to Stanford University. During college, Ansari interned for Nancy Pelosi.[18][19]
After finishing college, she began working for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.[19] 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.[20]
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "City Council District 7 Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari". www.phoenix.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ↑ Fernandez, Madison (2023-08-21). "What to expect when you're expecting (to miss the first debate)". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kavaler, Tara (April 4, 2023). "Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari running for Congress". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Journalist's Roundtable: Ruben Gallego runs for Senate". Arizona PBS. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
- ↑ "Phoenix Vice Mayor Ansari announces run for Congress". The Daily Independent at YourValley.net. April 4, 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ↑ Irwin, Lauren (2023-07-24). "Open, targeted House seats drive fundraising as numerous hopefuls line up". Cronkite News. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Gibson, Brittany (2023-07-25). "Progressive Working Families Party backs candidate to replace Rep. Ruben Gallego". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ Duda, Jeremy (August 29, 2023). "Ansari and Terán likely to dominate CD3 race following Pastor's departure". Axios. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- ↑ "2024 Arizona Election Results". AP News. August 3, 2024.
- ↑ "Arizona Third Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ↑ "Making History: Yassamin Ansari Elected to the U.S. Congress". PAAIA.org. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ↑ KTAR.com, SERENA O'SULLIVAN (2024-11-21). "Democratic freshman class president elected Nov. 20". KTAR.com. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
- ↑ Stevenson, Camaron (January 20, 2025). "Rep. Ansari skips Trump inauguration in favor of annual MLK Day March in Phoenix". Courier Newsroom. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 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.
- ↑ Thompson, Claire (2021-06-15). "Why this U.N. climate expert ran for city council". Fix. Grist. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
Other websites
Media related to Yassamin Ansari at Wikimedia Commons