{{Short description|German politician}} {{distinguish|Mike Joseph}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Mike Josef | office = Mayor of Frankfurt | term_start = 15 May 2023 | predecessor = Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (''acting'') | office1 = Full-Time City Councilor and<br />Head of the Department of Planning and Housing and Sports | term_start1 = 2016 | term_end1 = 2023 | office2 = Member of the<br />Frankfurt am Main City Council | term_start2 = 2011 | term_end2 = 2016 | predecessor2 = ''multi-member district'' | successor2 = ''multi-member district'' | office3 = Organizing Secretary at the<br />German Trade Union Federation (DGB) | term_start3 = 2011 | term_end3 = 2016 | image = Mike Josef (Frankfurter Buchmesse 2015) (cropped).jpg | alt = Mike Josef (2015) | caption = Mike Josef in 2015 | birth_name = Mike Yusuf | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1983|01|25}} | birth_place = Qamishli, Syria | party = Social Democratic Party }} '''Mike Josef''' (né '''Yusuf''';<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fnp.de/frankfurt/liebling-partei-muss-liefern-1-10587171.html | title=Der Liebling der Partei muss liefern | date=15 November 2018 }}</ref> {{langx|syr|ܡܐܝܟ ܝܘܣܦ}}; born 25 January 1983)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://frankfurt.de/service-und-rathaus/stadtpolitik/magistrat/dezernenten/stadtrat-mike-josef---spd | title=Stadtrat Mike Josef (SPD) | access-date=27 March 2023 | archive-date=8 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308135533/https://frankfurt.de/service-und-rathaus/stadtpolitik/magistrat/dezernenten/stadtrat-mike-josef---spd | url-status=dead }}</ref> is a German politician who has served as the Lord Mayor of Frankfurt am Main since May 2023.
On 26 March 2023, he was elected mayor of Frankfurt in a runoff election of the Lord Mayor with 92,371 votes (51.7% of the votes cast) against the CDU candidate Uwe Becker.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hessenschau.de/politik/mike-josef-wird-neuer-oberbuergermeister-von-frankfurt-v4,ob-stichwahl-frankfurt-106.html | title=OB-Wahl: Mike Josef wird neuer Oberbürgermeister von Frankfurt | date=26 March 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fr.de/frankfurt/mike-josef-erfolgsgeschichte-mit-pausenmodus-91594441.html | title=Mike Josef: Erfolgsgeschichte mit Pausenmodus | date=6 June 2022 }}</ref> The day of his inauguration is 11 May 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fr.de/frankfurt/ich-will-das-gemeinsame-in-den-vordergrund-stellen-92173124.html | title=Neuer Frankfurter Oberbürgermeister Mike Josef: "Ich will das Gemeinsame in den Vordergrund stellen" | date=26 March 2023 }}</ref>
==Early life and education== Josef was born in Qamishli, Syria to an ethnic Aramean family.<ref>https://www.theafricancourier.de/germany-from-refugee-child-to-lord-mayor/</ref> He came from Syria to Germany at the age of four, where they were recognized as political refugees because they had no longer been safe in Syria as Christians.<ref name="mw-2018">{{cite web | url=https://www.fnp.de/frankfurt/planungsdezernent-josef-ungewoehnliche-biografie-10425858.html | title=Planungsdezernent Josef: Ungewöhnliche Biografie | date=2 November 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Mike Josef">{{cite web | url=https://www.mike-josef.de/mike-josef | title=Mike Josef }}</ref> They lived briefly in Krauchenwies and then in the Ulm district of Wiblingen. Josef refers to Ulm as his hometown.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/frankfurt-oberbuergermeister-mike-josef-portraet-1.5776362 | title=Wahlen in Frankfurt: Wer ist der neue Oberbürgermeister Mike Josef? | date=27 March 2023 }}</ref> He played junior soccer<ref name="Ein 32-2018">{{cite web | url=https://www.fnp.de/frankfurt/32-jaehriger-parteispitze-10682707.html | title=Ein 32-Jähriger an der Parteispitze | date=17 December 2018 }}</ref> at ''TV Wiblingen'' there and at SSV Ulm 1846, and later coached a junior team at ''TV Wiblingen'' himself with a friend.<ref name="Vom Flüchtlingskind zum Oberbürgermeister Frankfurts-2023">{{cite web | url=https://www.t-online.de/-/100117670 | title=Vom Flüchtlingskind zum Oberbürgermeister Frankfurts? Das ist SPD-Kandidat Mike Josef | date=February 2023 }}</ref> Ulm is also where his two sisters were born.
He first attended a secondary school, later a junior high school.<ref name="Vom Flüchtlingskind zum Oberbürgermeister Frankfurts-2023"/> In 2002, he obtained his technical college entrance qualification in Neu-Ulm. There he completed civilian service with the German Red Cross (DRK) from 2002 to 2003. From 2003 to 2004, he studied social work at the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt up to his intermediate diploma. Until 2010, he studied political science, history and law at the Goethe University in Frankfurt, where he graduated as a political scientist.
During his studies, he was a member of the General Student Committee (AStA) at Frankfurt University, a member of the executive committee of the AStA, and a working student at the Federal Ministry of the Environment.<ref name="mw-2018"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/51903963/Mike_Josef | title=Goethe-Universität — Mike Josef }}</ref> In 2007, he was a student confidant for the constitutional complaint against the introduction of tuition fees in Hesse,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/auf-zum-einwohnermeldeamt-100.html | title=Auf zum Einwohnermeldeamt }}</ref> spokesman for the Juso university groups in Hesse<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.spiegel.de/lebenundlernen/uni/hessen-das-studiengebuehren-gesetz-wackelt-a-500869.html | title=Hessen: Das Studiengebühren-Gesetz wackelt | newspaper=Der Spiegel | date=20 August 2007 | last1=Leffers | first1=Jochen }}</ref> and from 2008 to 2010 spokesman for the Frankfurt Jusos. He also became a member of the Education and Science Workers' Union (GEW) and the Workers' Welfare Organization (AWO).
== Political career== From 2011 to 2016, Josef worked as organizing secretary at the German Trade Union Federation (DGB).<ref name="Mike Josef"/> In addition, he was a city councilor in Frankfurt am Main from 2011 and chairman of the SPD subdistrict of Frankfurt am Main from 2013, and later also SPD parliamentary group chairman in the city council.<ref name="Ein 32-2018"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fr.de/frankfurt/ob-wahl-frankfurt-mike-josef-der-engagierte-92163876.html | title=OB-Wahl Frankfurt: Mike Josef, der Aufsteiger | date=22 March 2023 }}</ref> In 2016, the city council elected him as a full-time city councilor. He took over as head of the Department of Planning and Housing. Since 2021, he has been the department head for planning, housing and sports.
After Peter Feldmann was voted out of office on 6 November 2022, Josef ran for the SPD in the election for Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main. On 26 March 2023, he was elected in the second round of voting; in the runoff, he prevailed against Uwe Becker (CDU). Voter turnout was 35.4 percent.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.t-online.de/region/frankfurt-am-main/id_100150642/ob-wahl-in-frankfurt-mike-josef-gewinnt-stichwahl.html | title=Mike Josef unter Tränen: "Ich will Oberbürgermeister aller Frankfurter werden" | date=26 March 2023 }}</ref> During the election campaign, Josef had called for higher investment in schools and housing, as well as an energy assistance fund to provide relief for those affected by high energy costs. This could be financed by the record revenues from the trade tax. Josef calls for "tough action" against drug dealers, including more police officers on the streets. According to him, it is evident that Frankfurt am Main is currently taking in too many addicts from southern Germany. A weapons ban zone and more video surveillance are also intended to ensure greater internal security. Josef also wants to take action against the "littering of public space," among other things by imposing noticeable penalties.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.t-online.de/region/frankfurt-am-main/id_100136166/ob-wahl-in-frankfurt-mike-josef-spd-will-gegen-dealer-hart-durchgreifen-.html | title=OB-Wahl in Frankfurt: Mike Josef (SPD) fordert "gegen Dealer hart durchzugreifen" | date=28 February 2023 }}</ref>
== Personal life == Josef is married and has two sons with his wife Chrisovalandou, whose parents are from Greece. He is a Protestant.<ref name="mw-2018"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fnp.de/frankfurt/auf-den-traum-vom-fussballprofi-folgt-fuer-mike-josef-der-traum-vom-ob-in-frankfurt-92098108.html | title=Auf den Traum vom Fußballprofi folgt für Mike Josef der Traum vom OB in Frankfurt | date=20 February 2023 }}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Mike Josef}} * [https://www.mike-josef.de/ Website of Mike Josef (german)] * {{official|https://frankfurt.de/service-und-rathaus/stadtpolitik/magistrat/dezernenten/oberbuergermeister-mike-josef---spd}} {{in lang|de|en|mul}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Josef, Mike}} Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:People from Neu-Ulm Category:Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences alumni Category:Goethe University Frankfurt alumni Category:Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Category:Mayors of Frankfurt Category:German people of Syrian descent Category:Assyrian politicians Category:German people of Assyrian descent Category:People from Qamishli