He fled Syria in 2015 and is now mayor of the small German municipality of Ostelsheim. The Swabian village in the state of Baden-Württemberg elected Ryyan Alshebl (29) as the new municipal head on Sunday with an absolute majority of 55.41 percent of the vote.
The 29-year-old ran as an independent candidate. Privately, however, he is a member of the Greens. He describes the experience during the election campaign as “overwhelmingly positive”. The municipality of Ostelsheim has almost 2,500 inhabitants and is located on the eastern side of the district of Calw in Heckengau and Schlehengäu.
Escape from Syria at the age of 21
At the age of 21, Alshebl fled his hometown of As-Suwayda in southern Syria. He has been working in the administration of Althengstett town hall for seven years now. As mayor, Alshebl now plans to move to nearby Ostelsheim in the Calw district, he said.
Alshebl is probably the first Syrian mayor in southwest Germany. According to the Baden-Württemberg municipal council, there are no other candidates with Syrian roots for a mayoral office yet. In Sunday’s election, the 29-year-old won non-party candidates Marco Strauss and Mathias Fey.
Source: Krone
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