Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg ( fa, نرگس اسکندری-گرونبرگ; born 20 February 1965) is a German politician for

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

. Since 2021 she has been ''

Bürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...

in'' (deputy mayor) of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

; following the recall of previous ''

Oberbürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

'' (lord mayor)

Peter Feldmann Peter Manuel Feldmann (born 7 October 1958) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). On 25 March 2012, he was elected Mayor of Frankfurt as successor of Petra Roth (CDU). On 6 November 2022, he was recalled, with 95% of the ...

, she has acted as Mayor of Frankfurt on a caretaker basis from 12 November 2022 until the next mayoral election in March 2023.

Early life

Eskandari-Grünberg was born in 1965 in Tehran. As a high-school student she protested for the overthrow of the

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

; after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

, she campaigned for democracy against the Ruhollah Khomeini regime. While still at school, she was arrested and imprisoned in Evin Prison, and while there gave birth to a daughter, Maryam, with a college student. She was released after a year and a half, and fled with her baby daughter to Germany, arriving in Frankfurt on Christmas Eve 1985. Eskandari-Grünberg earned a doctorate and became a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...

with the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services withi ...

, and married fellow psychologist Kurt Grünberg, with whom she has a second child. Her daughter became an actress, known for roles in the film ''

Shahada The ''Shahada'' (Arabic: ٱلشَّهَادَةُ , "the testimony"), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there is ...

'' and the TV series '' 4 Blocks'' and ''

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by ...

'' among others. Eskandari-Grünberg was featured in Zaree's 2019 documentary ', in which Zaree attempts to learn more about the circumstances of her mother's imprisonment and her own birth, and which won the 2020

German Film Award for Best Documentary Film The German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the German film industry. Besides b ...

Political career

In 2001, Eskandari-Grünberg joined

Frankfurt City Council Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

as a councillor for The Greens, and from 2008 to 2016, she sat on the city cabinet as the Head of Department for Integration. In the 2018 mayoral election, she ran as the Green candidate and finished third with 9.3% of the vote. After the 2021 Frankfurt local elections, in which the Greens finished first, Eskandari-Grünberg was chosen as the ''Bürgermeisterin'' (

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

) as well as the Head of Department for Diversity, Anti-discrimination and Social Cohesion. Following the successful

recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of of ...

against Lord Mayor of Frankfurt

, Eskandari-Grünberg took over the role of lord mayor on 12 November 2022, and will be the caretaker until the next election, expected to be held in March 2023. Eskandari-Grünberg is not religious and is skeptical of Islamic teaching and the role of

women in Islam The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree a ...

, campaigning unsuccessfully for a headscarf ban in public buildings, but also defends

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...

and supports a "critical dialogue" with Muslims. After defending immigration and the construction of a mosque in Frankfurt, Eskandari-Grünberg became the target of a

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack r ...

intimidation campaign.

Mahsa Amini protests

Eskandari-Grünberg has been a vocal critic of the human rights situation in Iran and called for sanctions against the country. During the

Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the government of Iran associated with the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini ( fa, مهسا امینی) began on 16 September 2022 and are ongoing as of December 2022. Amini had been arrested by the Gui ...

in Iran in 2022, Eskandari-Grünberg organised and led demonstrations in support of Iranian feminists in Frankfurt.

Footnotes

References

External links

Dr. Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg
Hessen Greens {{DEFAULTSORT:Eskandari-Grünberg, Nargess 1965 births Mayors of Frankfurt Alliance 90/The Greens politicians Politicians from Tehran Living people German politicians of Iranian descent Iranian emigrants to Germany Iranian atheists German atheists Iranian democracy activists German psychotherapists Iranian prisoners and detainees Inmates of Evin Prison Mahsa Amini protests