Ryan Alsebel, a 29-year-old refugee from Syria, was officially sworn in last night as the mayor of Ostelsheim, in southwestern Germany.

Alsebel left Syria to escape the war eight years ago. In April 2023, voters in this community of 2,500 residents elected him head of the new city council, with Alsembl garnering an absolute majority of 55.41%.

The Young Mayors Network said it does not know of another refugee who went to Germany in 2015 and is now the mayor of a city in the country. There were no other candidates of Syrian origin for the post of mayor in this state in southwestern Germany, according to the Association of Municipalities of Baden-Württemberg.

When Alsebel arrived in Germany, he was only 21 years old. He had left Syria to avoid mandatory military service in his country, which was mired in civil war.

He went from Lesbos to mainland Greece and crossed North Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia by public transport and on foot. It took 12 days to arrive in Germany. He quickly learned German and did an internship as an administrative clerk in the town hall of Altengstedt, a village near Ostelsheim. He ran as an independent candidate in the municipal elections. He is also a member of the Greens, because “climate protection is very important”.

His election victory is particularly impressive in a village that is considered conservative. He attributes his election to his ability to listen to residents’ concerns and his campaign focused on childcare and the digital world.