Calgary’s Ismaili-Canadian Mayor Named Top Mayor In The World

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has been awarded the 2014 World Mayor Prize. Nenshi is being recognized for his governance and community service.

CALGARY —Calgary’s first ever South Asian mayor has received an unexpected birthday gift after being named the No. 1 mayor in the world by an international urban research institute.

Naheed Nenshi, who was nominated by Calgarians and other Canadians, has been awarded the 2014 World Mayor Prize, reported Canadian Press.

The urban research group says he has become the “most admired mayor” of any large Canadian city.

It describes him as an urban visionary who doesn’t neglect the nitty-gritty of local government.

It says Nenshi is a role model to many in North America and Europe for decisive management, inclusivity and forward thinking.

The mayor of Ghent, Belgium, was the runner-up.

The only other North American mayor to make the Top 10 in the honours given out every two years is from Houston.

The World Mayor Prize has been handed out by World Mayor since 2004 and was established to bring awareness to the work city leaders do and to commend them for their accomplishments.

The World Mayor Project invites participants to nominate city leaders who best demonstrate:

Honest and open governance

Leadership and vision

Management abilities

Financial acumen

Social and economic awareness

The ability to provide security and to protect the environment

To displaying the will and ability to foster tolerance and amity among communities of different cultural, racial and social backgrounds

Tann vom Hove, Senior Fellow of The City Mayors Foundation , says Nenshi has become the most admired mayor of any large Canadian city.

“He is an urban visionary who doesn’t neglect the nitty-gritty of local government. For many in North America and indeed Europe, Mayor Nenshi is a role model for decisive management, inclusivity and forward thinking,” said Hove in a statement on Monday.

“I understand that there were scores of people, Calgarians and Canadians, who wrote in letters of recommendation, who wrote in their own comments, who wrote in nominations and to me that’s very humbling. It’s very kind of people to take that time because these were not short comments that people wrote in and clearly that made a big difference to the jury so thank you to all of those folks,” said Mayor Nenshi.

The mayor says the honour is also great for the city.

“I think it give us a lot of great visibility. It gives us the opportunity to talk about what we’re doing here in Calgary on a national and international stage, which is always important for us, particularly in these tough economic times so I’m looking forward to using the platform as best as I can and I just want to say thanks to all of the other mayors who always do great work for their cities as well,” he said.

Nenshi was singled out for his for decisive management, inclusivity and forward planning. He was also recognized for his leadership during the floods of 2013 and the power outage that crippled  a large part of the downtown last year.

The top 10 Mayors of World Mayor 2014 Prize

The World Mayor Prize trophy will be presented to Mayor Nenshi later in the year.