Lili Bosse ( Toren) is an American politician serving as the 82nd and current mayor of

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

. The daughter of

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

survivors, she has supported many Jewish causes in the United States and Israel. Before her current term, she also served as the mayor of Beverly Hills from March 2014 to March 2015 and March 2017 to March 2018.

Early life

Lili Bosse (née Toren) was born October 6, 1961 and grew up in

Rego Park Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York City, until age nine, when she moved to Beverly Hills. She is the only child of

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

s.Michael Aushenker
L.A. Women's Circuit
''

The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. ''The Journal'' wa ...

'', October 4, 2001 Her parents met in Israel shortly after World War II and decided to immigrate to the United States. Her father, Jack Toren, died in 1993.Al Martinez
Her Name Is Rose
''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', February 4, 1995 Her mother, Rosalia (Orenstein) Toren, born in Poland, escaped from the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

and wrote two books about her experiences: ''Destiny'' in 1991 and ''A New Beginning'' in 1997; she died in February 2015. Bosse graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

.Meet the Mayors: Lili Bosse of Beverly Hills
''LA Tech Digest''

Political career

Bosse served on the Beverly Hills Traffic and Parking Commission from 1997 to 2002, and on the Beverly Hills Planning Commission from 2007 to 2011. She was elected to a four-year term on the five-member Beverly Hills City Council in 2011. She was appointed by the City Council to serve a one-year term as vice mayor in 2013, and then for a succeeding one-year term as mayor in 2014. Bosse was sworn in as mayor on March 25, 2014, by actor

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

in a ceremony at the

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is a community arts center in Beverly Hills, California, named for philanthropist Wallis Annenberg in recognition for The Annenberg Foundation's major gift to fund the campus. It is colloquially k ...

.New Mayor Lili Bosse Wants Beverly Hills to be the Healthiest City in the World
, ''Beverly Hills Courier'', March 26, 2014 Poitier had also sworn her in as vice mayor in 2013. One of her first actions as Mayor was to announce a "Healthy City Initiative", which aimed to make Beverly Hills "the healthiest city in the world". In early May 2014, Bosse welcomed a resolution passed by the Beverly Hills City Council to urge the Sultan of Brunei,

Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...

, to sell the

Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Cinema of the ...

after he had passed legislation in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

to impose Islamic Sharia law there, including the death penalty for adultery and gay sex.Ted Johnson
City Council Passes Resolution Urging Brunei to Sell Beverly Hills Hotel
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', May 6, 2014 She added that she had made a "personal decision" not to return to the hotel until the situation had been solved. From May 25 to June 3, 2014, Bosse visited

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

as part of a mayoral delegation trip.Victoria Talbot
Beverly Hills News – Mayor Traveling to China on Trade Mission
, ''Beverly Hills Courier'', May 21, 2014 She met officials in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

, Hongan,

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, and

Jieyang Jieyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose people speak Chaoshan Min distinct from neighbouring Yue speakers. It is historically important as the ...

to promote trade between China and Beverly Hills, especially its luxury industry. In March 2017, Bosse began her second term as the mayor of Beverly Hills. She announced the renewal of her weekly "Walk With the Mayor" program and a new partnership between the City of Beverly Hills and author

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternati ...

. By August 2017, Bosse introduced Beverly Hills Open Later Days (BOLD) which encouraged local businesses to stay open later into the evening, especially on

Rodeo Drive Rodeo Drive is a street in Beverly Hills, California, with its southern segment in the City of Los Angeles. Its southern terminus is at Beverwil Drive, and its northern terminus is at its intersection with Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The ...

. Bosse was reelected mayor of Beverly Hills in April 2022. She announced the launch of a Real Time Watch Center to monitor the city's surveillance network. In October 2022, Mayor Bosse led the Beverly Hills City Council in the adoption of a resolution calling on President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken and Members of Congress to Increase Sanctions Against the Iranian Regime and for the United Nations to expel Iran from its Women’s Rights Commission. The action follows the physical beating and deaths of Mahsa Amini, Sarina Esmaeilzadeh, Nika Shakarami, and others by Iran's morality police.

Philanthropy

Bosse served as president of the Beverly Hills Education Foundation, from which she received the Spirit of Philanthropy Award. Together with her husband, she is one of the largest donors to the

Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden The Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden is a memorial space in honor of the victims of the September 11 attacks in Beverly Hills, California at the corner of North Rexford Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard/Burton Way. Dedicated on September 1 ...

. She is also a founding member of the Police And Community Together organization. Together with her husband Jon, she donated US$100,000 to the Moriah Films division of the

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating anti-Semitism, tolerance educat ...

in honor of her mother's 90th birthday in 2013—the name "Rose Orenstein Toren" will appear in the film credits of all documentaries subsequently produced by the center. In 2013, the two also served on the Southern California Regional Council of

Birthright Israel Taglit-Birthright Israel ( he, תגלית), also known as Birthright Israel or simply Birthright, is a not-for-profit educational organization that sponsors free ten-day heritage trips to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights for young adult ...

. Bosse is co-founder and serves on the executive board of Visionary Women, a nonprofit organization that promotes women in leadership positions. She is also a fellow of Vital Voices, a global women's leadership organization.

Personal life

Bosse is married to Jon Bosse, the co-president and chief investment officer of NWQ, an affiliate of

Nuveen Investments Nuveen is an American asset manager and wholly owned subsidiary of financial planning firm TIAA, itself known for its legacy focus on managing money for not-for-profit institutions such as universities and their employees. As a consequence of int ...

. They have two sons, Andrew and Adam. They reside in Beverly Hills, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosse, Lili Living people People from Rego Park, Queens Beverly Hills High School alumni University of Southern California alumni Mayors of Beverly Hills, California Jewish mayors of places in the United States Women mayors of places in California Jewish American philanthropists Philanthropists from California American people of Polish-Jewish descent American Reform Jews American women philanthropists Philanthropists from New York (state) Jewish American people in California politics 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women Date of birth missing (living people) 1961 births