Mathieu Eugene is a

Haitian-American Haitian Americans (french: Haïtiens-Américains; ht, ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida are ...

politician. A Democrat, he was a

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

member for the 40th district, and was the first Haitian-born city councilmember. His district included portions of Crown Heights,

East Flatbush East Flatbush is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. East Flatbush is bounded by Crown Heights and Empire Boulevard to the north; Brownsville and East 98th Street to the east; Flatlands, Canarsie and the ...

, Flatbush,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

, Midwood, Prospect Park and

Prospect Lefferts Gardens Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a residential neighborhood in the Flatbush area of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The community is bounded by Empire Boulevard (formerly Malbone Street) to the north, Clarkson Avenue to the south, New Yor ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Life and career

Eugene is a

, born in

Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien (; ht, Kap Ayisyen; "Haitian Cape"), typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as or , is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previousl ...

in April 1954. He is also a physician, having attended medical school in Belgium, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. His medical degree is from Universidad del Noreste in Mexico but he does not practice in the U.S. Before he became a City Council member, he was a community organizer; he still runs a youth program in Brooklyn.

New York City Council

In 2006, Councilwoman

Yvette Clarke Yvette Diane Clarke (born November 21, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she first entered Congress in 2007, representing ...

resigned following her election to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

. In the special election to replace her, Eugene won both the non-partisan primary and the general election. Eugene is the first Haitian-born elected official in the state of New York. Eugene was re-elected in 2009, 2013, and 2017.

Personal life

Eugene is a practicing

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He is a master and black belt in the martial art of

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

Electoral history

References

External links

Official NYC Council Website@CmMathieuEugene (official twitter)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugene, Mathieu People from Cap-Haïtien American politicians of Haitian descent Haitian emigrants to the United States New York City Council members Living people New York (state) Democrats Candidates in the 2021 United States elections 21st-century American politicians African-American New York City Council members 1954 births 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people