Hussein Samatar was a Somali American politician, banker and community organizer.
14 Facts About Hussein Samatar
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Hussein Samatar established the African Development Center in 2004, which provided microloans and technical expertise to recent immigrant businesses.
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Hussein Samatar later studied at the local Somali National University, receiving his undergraduate degree in 1991.
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Hussein Samatar then moved to the United States, part of the first wave of Somali emigrants to Minnesota in December 1991.
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Hussein Samatar learned English with the help of a Minneapolis librarian.
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Hussein Samatar was later accepted at the University of St Thomas, earning an MBA in Business Administration from the institution.
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Hussein Samatar had enrolled in the Achieving Excellence in Community Economic Development program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, which he successfully completed.
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Hussein Samatar was married to Ubah Jama, with whom he had four children.
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In 2002, Hussein Samatar was hired by Wells Fargo into their management training program and became a business banker in 2002.
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Hussein Samatar was inaugurated into the office on 11 January 2011.
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Hussein Samatar served on the boards of a number of civic and development organizations.
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Hussein Samatar often wrote on the domestic political scene, endorsing the Hiil Qaran Party as a possible national party to contest elections in the autonomous Somaliland, Puntland, Khatumo, Galmudug and Himan and Heeb regions.
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In 2018, Minneapolis opened the highly anticipated mixed-use pedestrian path, naming it Hussein Samatar Crossing, to provide greater connection for Cedar-Riverside area residents and visitors to Hiawatha LRT Trail, downtown Minneapolis, and other city neighborhoods.
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Hussein Samatar did it figuratively; this [crossing] is doing it literally.