Ostelsheim (dpa) – His story went around the world: In a ceremonial town council meeting, 29-year-old Ryyan Alshebl was officially sworn in as mayor of the municipality of Ostelsheim in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany. Eight years ago, he had fled the war in Syria – in April, the citizens of the community of 2,500 inhabitants elected him as the new head of the town hall with an absolute majority of 55 per cent of the votes.
The swearing-in ceremony took place in the local festival hall. For the first time, a refugee from Syria spoke the official formula of commitment for a mayoral office in Baden-Württemberg that evening. According to the Gemeindetag Baden-Württemberg, there has been no other applicant with Syrian roots for a mayor’s office in southwestern Germany. The “Young Mayors Network” is also not aware of any other mayor who came to Germany as a refugee in 2015.