{{short description|Somali-American politician, banker and community organizer in Minneapolis (1964–2013)}}
{{Infobox officeholder |name = Hussein Mohamed Mohamud Samatar |native_name = {{small|{{lang|so|Xuseen Maxamed Maxamud Samatar}}<br>{{lang|ar|حسين ساماتار|rtl=yes}}}} |image = Hussein Samatar and Ramon Leon, 2011.jpg |alt = Two men, a taller one on the left in an open suit jacket and the shorter one on the right in a white button-down shirt, smile as they stand in front of an indoor taquería. |caption = Samatar, left, with Ramon Leon of the Latino Economic Development Center at the Midtown Global Market in 2011 |office = District 3 Representative on the Minneapolis School Board |term_start = 11 January 2011 |term_end = 25 August 2013 |birth_date = 1964 |birth_place = Somalia |death_date = 25 August {{death year and age|2013|1964}} |death_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |alma_mater = Somali National University<br>University of St. Thomas |occupation = banker, community organizer |spouse = Ubah Jama |children = 4 }}
'''Hussein Samatar''' ({{langx|so|Xuseen Samatar}}, {{langx|ar|حسين ساماتار}}) (1964 – 25 August 2013) was a Somali American politician, banker and community organizer. He established the African Development Center in 2004, which provided microloans and technical expertise to recent immigrant businesses.
==Personal life== Samatar was born in 1964 in Somalia. He grew up in a diverse area in Kismayo, situated in the southern Lower Juba province. Samatar's father had originally moved down from the northeastern Puntland region at the age of twelve, and his mother hailed from the southern town of Afmadow.<ref name="Ropaseaspc">{{cite news|last=Samatar|first=Hussein|title=Reflecting on Professor Ahmed Samatar's Experience as Somali Presidential Candidate and Member of the Federal Parliament|url=http://puntlandonline.com/reflecting-on-professor-ahmed-samatars-experience-as-somali-presidential-candidate-and-member-of-the-federal-parliament/|accessdate=22 January 2014|newspaper=Puntland Online|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203055958/http://puntlandonline.com/reflecting-on-professor-ahmed-samatars-experience-as-somali-presidential-candidate-and-member-of-the-federal-parliament/|archivedate=3 February 2014}}</ref>
Samatar attended high school in Mogadishu.<ref name="Ropaseaspc"/> He later studied at the local Somali National University, receiving his undergraduate degree in 1991. His initial goal was to work as an economist, but postponed this following the outbreak of the civil war four days after his graduation.<ref name=ADCABOUT>{{cite web|title=Hussein Samatar|url=http://adcminnesota.org/about/staff/hussein-samatar|accessdate=12 January 2014|publisher=African Development Center of Minnesota|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112224839/http://adcminnesota.org/about/staff/hussein-samatar|archive-date=12 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Samatar then moved to the United States,<ref name=MPRFIRST>{{cite news|last=Yuen|first=Laura|title=First Somali-American elected to public office in Minn.|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2010/11/03/hussein-samatar-first-somali-american-to-hold-public-office-in-minnesota|accessdate=12 January 2014|date=3 November 2010|newspaper=MPR News}}</ref> part of the first wave of Somali emigrants to Minnesota in December 1991. He learned English with the help of a Minneapolis librarian.<ref name=ADCABOUT /><ref name="Hsmbe">{{cite web|last=Niemela|first=Jennifer|title=Hussein Samatar {{!}} Minority Business Executive|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/06/29/focus8.html?page=all|accessdate=14 January 2014}}</ref>
Samatar was later accepted at the University of St. Thomas, earning an MBA in Business Administration from the institution.<ref name=ADCABOUT /><ref name="Hsmbe"/> In 2003–2004, he was selected as a Humphrey School of Public Affairs Fellow, and later as a German Marshall Memorial Fellow in 2007. Samatar had also enrolled in the Achieving Excellence in Community Economic Development program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, which he successfully completed.<ref name=ADCABOUT />
Samatar was married to Ubah Jama, with whom he had four children.<ref name="minnpost obit">{{cite news|last=Hawkins|first=Beth|title=Hussein Samatar, 'an extraordinary leader,' dies at 45|url=http://www.minnpost.com/learning-curve/2013/08/hussein-samatar-extraordinary-leader-dies-45|accessdate=January 16, 2014|newspaper=MinnPost|date=August 26, 2013}}</ref> On August 25, 2013, Samatar died of complications from leukemia.<ref name="Hsasappd"/>
==Career== In 2002, Samatar was hired by Wells Fargo into their management training program and became a business banker in 2002. He also worked at Northwest Banks. In 2004, he launched the African Development Center, with assistance from the McKnight Foundation and the Pan-African Community Endowment. The organization's purpose was to provide education and financial services to recent immigrants. In 2009, the ADC had a loan portfolio of $10 million.<ref name=ADCABOUT /><ref name="Hsmbe"/>
Samatar later entered public office in 2006, when he was appointed to the Minneapolis Library Board of Trustees by Mayor R.T. Rybak. Four years on, he became the first Somali American in Minnesota and most likely the country to be elected to public office, winning a seat on the Minneapolis School Board.<ref name="Hsasappd">{{cite news|title=Hussein Samatar, a Somali-American political pioneer, dies|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/08/25/samatar-dies|accessdate=23 January 2014|newspaper=MPRnews|date=25 August 2013}}</ref> He was inaugurated into the office on 11 January 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=Jeffrey|title=MPR News photos of the week|url=https://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/01/14/potw|accessdate=January 14, 2014|newspaper=MPR News|date=January 14, 2011}}</ref>
Samatar also served on the boards of a number of civic and development organizations. Among these were the Citizens League, Dean's advisory board of the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, CommonBond Communities and Minneapolis Foundation.<ref name="Umev">{{cite web|last=UM Events|title=Immigration: A Catalyst of Change in American Cities|date=19 January 2010 |url=http://events.umich.edu/event/3827-913768/view/month/start/2010-01-01/end/2010-01-31/all/yes|publisher=University of Michigan|accessdate=23 January 2014}}</ref>
Additionally, Samatar was actively engaged in politics within Somalia. He 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.<ref name="Ropaseaspc"/>
==Legacy== In a statement after his death, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said one of his greatest pleasures as mayor was getting to know Samatar, whom he described as "an extraordinary leader and a real friend." Praising Samatar's public work, Rybak also said the city planned to name a re-purposed stretch of 5th Street in Samatar's honour.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hussein Samatar, 45: Pioneering Somali public official dies|url=https://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_23944662/samatar-1st-somali-elected-minnesota-office-dies|accessdate=12 January 2014|date=26 August 2013|newspaper=St. Paul Pioneer Press}}</ref><ref name="Rao">{{cite news|title=Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak's last act: West Bank walkway |url=http://www.startribune.com/local/west/238191271.html|accessdate=12 January 2014|last=Rao|first=Maya|date=30 December 2013|newspaper=Star Tribune}}</ref> In 2018, Minneapolis opened the highly anticipated mixed-use pedestrian path, naming it Samatar Crossing, to provide greater connection for Cedar-Riverside area residents and visitors to Hiawatha LRT Trail, downtown Minneapolis, and other city neighborhoods. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey remarked at the dedicated ceremony, "This [crossing] is an honor to Samatar who worked to bridge communities. He did it figuratively; this [crossing] is doing it literally."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-city-leaders-open-samatar-crossing/491577211/|title=Minneapolis city leaders open 'Samatar Crossing'|last=Jeelani|first=Gulam|date=|website=Star Tribune|access-date=}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samatar, Hussein}} Category:1964 births Category:2013 deaths Category:Ethnic Somali people Category:American people of Somali descent Category:School board members in Minnesota Category:Somali National University alumni Category:University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni Category:Businesspeople from Minnesota Category:African-American Muslims Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century African-American businesspeople Category:Muslims from Minnesota