# Hussein Samatar

> Hussein Samatar (1964-2013): Kismayo-raised banker, founder of the African Development Center, Minneapolis School Board member.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/hussein-samatar/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who was he?

Hussein Samatar was a Somali-American banker, community organiser and politician ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_Samatar)). He was born in 1964 and grew up in Kismayo in the [Lower Juba region](/en/regions/lower-juba/); his mother came from Afmadow (same source). He finished high school in Mogadishu and graduated from the Somali National University in 1991, days before the civil war broke out (same source).

## In Minnesota

He arrived in Minnesota in December 1991 with the first wave of Somali migrants and learned English with help from a Minneapolis librarian ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_Samatar)). He earned an MBA at the University of St. Thomas and joined Wells Fargo in 2002 (same source). See [Somalis in Minneapolis-St Paul](/en/diaspora/minneapolis-st-paul/).

In 2004 he founded the African Development Center, which gave microloans and business training to recent immigrants; by 2009 its loan portfolio was $10 million ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_Samatar)).

## Public office

The mayor appointed him to the Minneapolis Library Board in 2006, and in 2010 he won a seat on the Minneapolis School Board, the first Somali American elected to public office in Minnesota ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_Samatar)). He took office on 11 January 2011 (same source). See [Somali Americans in public office](/en/diaspora/somali-americans-in-public-office/).

## Legacy

He died of leukaemia on 25 August 2013 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_Samatar)). In 2018 Minneapolis opened a pedestrian path in Cedar-Riverside named Samatar Crossing in his honour (same source).

## In short

A banker who backed immigrant businesses and opened the door to Somali-American elected office in Minnesota.

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