Only 5 years after becoming the first ever Muslim mayor in Canada, Naheed Nenshi has now been officially declared the best mayor in the world. The announcement came out on his birthday.
Naheed Nenshi is the mayor of Calgary, Canada. His ‘Purple Revolution’ put him into the spotlight in 2010 and the same year he was elected the mayor of the third largest city in Canada. He was re-elected as the mayor of Calgary in 2013.
Naheed Nenshi is now the most admired mayor in Canada. He is a Harvard educated professor and a former McKinsey consultant.
The award was declared by City Mayors Foundation which is held every two years. According to the foundation’s website “The City Mayors Foundation and the World Mayor Project were established in 2003 to promote, encourage and facilitate good local government”.
Quoted from the World Mayor:
He is an urban visionary who doesn’t neglect the nitty-gritty of local government. For many in North America and indeed Europe, Mayor Nenshi is a role model for decisive management, inclusivity and forward planning. He has also demonstrated strong leadership during disasters like the Alberta floods of 2013 and last year’s power outage, which affected large parts of the downtown area of the city. While Mayor Nenshi rejects being labelled progressive or indeed anything else – in the World Mayor interview he said: “I really believe that this kind of categorization alienates people and keeps them from participating in the political process.” – he has not shied away from challenging conservative views from some members of Alberta’s provincial government.
Here is the video by The Huffinton Post Canada
Naheed Nenshi will be presented with the World Mayor Prize trophy later this year.