From Kenyan Refugee to Powerful Canadian Minister

A former Kenyan refugee has been appointed in a powerful ministerial position in the latest assignments made by Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.

Ahmed Hussen lived in deplorable conditions in a refuge camp in Kenya when his parents fled from Somalia following continued series of unrest.  

While in Kenya, he lived in different streets and apartments trying to find a footing in Nairobi. At one time, he moved to Mombasa in search of any type of a job that could change his life. However, things did not work out for him. Luckily he found a way to travel to Canada and that is where his life took a turn for the better.

Ahmed Hussen Who Was Appointed to a Powerful Cabinet Position in Canada on Tuesday October 26

Egypt Today

Ahmed Hussen was unveiled as a Minister during a swearing-in ceremony that was held at the country's capital Ottawa on Tuesday, October 26.

Hussen has been entrusted with turning around Canada's housing sector having been appointed as the Minister for Housing, Diversity and Inclusion.

Hussen held Cabinet positions as the Immigration and Social Development Minister under Trudeau's Liberal government. But now he assumes the new role in one of the recently created portfolios by the Canadian government.

He went to Canada still as a refugee at the age of 16. His rise to become the country's elite citizens came after he studied law and became an adviser to former Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty.

Hussen fended off his opponent Hawa Mire, a fellow Somali-Canadian, in September to secure his third term as federal MP for York South-Weston.

He has represented the region in the House of Commons since 2015. 

He joins the other 38 Ministers appointed by Trudeau to lead the country's development agenda. Garissa Town Member of Parliament, Aden Duale, joined other world leaders to congratulate him on his appointment.

"Congratulations Ahmed Hussen for your reappointment to the new Canadian cabinet as the Minister of Housing, Diversity, and Inclusion. He was previously the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees and Social Development," Duale wrote on his social media page.

Hussen joins other top individuals who have roots in Kenya and are winning big in Canada. On June 17, Mahmud Jamal was nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Jamal became the first Muslim judge to be nominated as a member of the Supreme Court of Canada. 

He was born in 1967 in Nairobi, Kenya to a family originally from India. Thereafter, the family moved to the United Kingdom in 1969 to search for a better life.

Ahmed Hussen Who Was Appointed to a Powerful Cabinet Position in Canada on Tuesday, October 26

Vancouver Sun