From Evin Prison to Frankfurt City Hall: The Extraordinary Odyssey of Nargess Eskandari

In late 2021, she was appointed the Mayor (Bürgermeisterin) of Frankfurt, serving as the deputy to the Lord Mayor and, for a significant period, as the acting Lord Mayor following the removal of Peter Feldmann. This made her the first woman with a migration background to lead one of Germany’s most important financial and cultural hubs. Frankfurt is the home of the European Central Bank and a global aviation crossroads; having a former refugee at its helm sent a powerful message to the world about Germany’s democratic evolution and its capacity for social mobility.