Mamdani takes reins of New York City after historic election win

Zohran Mamdani took office as New York City’s 112th mayor at the stroke of midnight, marking the culmination of his improbable, historic rise to power over the past year.

- LAURA NAHMIAS

Zohran Mamdani is flanked by wife Rama Duwaji (right) and New York Attorney General Letitia James at the swearing-in ceremony at Old City Hall Station in New York on Thursday

(REUTERS)

A 34-year-old democratic socialist born in Uganda, Mamdani becomes the city’s first mayor of South Asian descent, its first Muslim mayor and the youngest leader of the metropolis of nearly 8.5 million people in more than a century.

Mamdani took his official oath on a Quran, becoming the first New York mayor to do so, inside the ornate former City Hall subway station, which has been closed since the 1940s. New York state Attorney General Letitia James presided.

At 1 pm, Mamdani is expected to speak before a large crowd at City Hall after he is ceremonially sworn in by US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is scheduled to deliver opening remarks.