Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has made history as New York City’s youngest, first Muslim, and first South Asian mayor. The 34-year-old Ugandan-born leader’s journey from Bronx classrooms to City Hall reflects how education shaped his politics.

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected as the new Mayor of New York City, defeating seasoned figures like former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

The victory is historic on multiple fronts: Mamdani, 34, is the first Muslim and the first of South Asian descent to hold the office; he is also the youngest mayor in over a century, representing a generational and ideological shift in one of the most influential cities in the world.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, had already made headlines after he won the June Democratic primary by 12 percentage points, reflecting an increased desire among New Yorkers for progressive change.

Early life

Movement has shaped Zohran Mamdani's life-across continents, cultures, and systems of inequality. Born in Uganda, he was only five years old when his family moved to Cape Town, South Africa.

It was in those early years that Mamdani first learned what injustice looked like. His parents Mahmood Mamdani, a renowned political theorist, and Mira Nair, the globally acclaimed filmmaker, gave him a home where political ideas were part of everyday conversation.

School education

The Mamdanis moved again in 1998, this time to New York City, where Zohran entered the Bank Street School for Children in Manhattan a place known for its progressive, child-centred approach. There, he was encouraged to question systems, think critically, and understand the world beyond textbooks.

He later went to the Bronx High School of Science. The admissions process is through a competitive entrance examination, and to many, it has been a sure way into Ivy League universities and into careers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

But Mamdani took a different path. Even as a teenager, he was more drawn to questions of inequality, governance, and belonging than to engineering or medicine.

College Years

In 2009, Mamdani left New York to study at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He attended Bowdoin, a liberal arts college, majoring in Africana Studies and delving deep into politics of race, empire, and postcolonial identity.

But his education went far beyond the classroom. He co-founded the Bowdoin chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, became an outspoken advocate for anti-imperialist and social justice movements, and frequently challenged administrative policies on campus.

In 2014 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies.