POLITICS
Eight years after fleeing Syria, Ryyan Alshebl became mayor of Ostelsheim in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
Published: 3 April 2023 17:31 CEST
Ryyan Alshebl sits on a bench in the middle of Ostelsheim. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Schmidt
In 2015 Ryyan Alshebl fled the civil war in Syria for Germany, along with nearly 1.1 million others who arrived in the country the same year.
On Sunday he became the mayor of Ostelsheim, a small Swabian village which elected Alshebl with a majority of 55.41 percent.
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The 29-year-old ran for election as a non-party candidate but is a member of the Green Party. During the campaign, he received the backing of nearby Tübingen’s mayor Boris Palmer of the Greens, who praised Alshebl as ‘fleissig’, or hardworking.
The experience in the election campaign was “overwhelmingly positive”, Ashelbi said in a statement after the win. “Today, Ostelsheim has become a symbol of tolerance and cosmopolitanism for the whole of Germany.”
At the age of 21, Alshebl had fled his hometown of as-Suwaida in southern Syria.
He has now been working in the administration of the nearby Althengstett town hall for seven years.
First regional Syrian mayor
As mayor, Alshebl plans to move to Ostelsheim, which has around 2,500 residents, he said. Starting on his first day in office on June 18th, he plans to push for all-day Kita spots – which have not been on offer since the Covid-19 pandemic – and for new construction projects, including a “lively” town centre.
Alshebl is the first Syrian mayor in the southwestern state, and one of Germany’s few foreign-born mayors in general. According to Gemeindetag Baden-Württemberg, there has been no other candidate with Syrian roots for mayor until now.
In the election on Sunday, the 29-year-old prevailed against the non-party candidates Marco Strauß and Mathias Fey.
Vocabulary
Independent (of a political party)
Overwhelmingly – predominantly
Until now – bisher
Cosmopolitanism – (the) cosmopolitanism
To prevail/to carry through – durchsetzen
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