Defying the odds, the success story of African refugees who became global icons

Magid Magid – Politician

Magid Magid is a British-Somali activist and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Sheffield from May 2018 to May 2019. His appointment attracted significant media attention, as he is the first Somali, the youngest-ever, and the first Green Party councillor to hold the role. 

In May 2019, he was elected to the European Parliament as Green Party MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber. 

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Born in the region of Somaliland, Somalia, Magid came as a child refugee to Britain in 1994. Magid Magid, who arrived in the UK at the age of 5 from war-torn Somalia and couldn’t speak English. He grew up in Burngreave, Sheffield and studied aquatic zoology at the University of Hull where he was elected president of Hull University Union. He has worked in digital marketing and was elected as a Green Party councillor on Sheffield City Council in 2016. From 2017 to 2018, he served as Deputy Lord Mayor, and during this period he participated in the third series of the reality show Hunted.