This Egyptian just launched a campaign to become a US governor

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants who left for the U.S., is only 32, but he's already accomplished more than enough for his Arab parents to call home and brag about.

Aside from his remarkable personal achievements, El-Sayed is planning to enter the governor’s race in the state of Michigan, the 10th most populous American state (out of 50). The state is home to a large Arab American population and the largest mosque in North America.

El-Sayed said that President Donald Trump's xenophobic policies were a key factor leading to his decision, according to The Detroit News.

"The politics of fear and hatred threaten to divide us,"  El-Sayed said at a press conference announcing his campaign for the 2018 election.

“We are not sitting on the sidelines. We must act," he said.

Prior to announcing his bid to become Michigan governor, El-Sayed served as executive director of the Detroit Department of Health & Wellness Promotion in 2015. When he took the position, he became the youngest health official of a major American city at just 30 years old.

But he was just building on a history of success. El-Sayed attended the highly-ranked University of Michigan, where he studied biology and political science. He went on to become a PhD at Oxford University through a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and then earned a medical degree at New York's elite Columbia University.

"He is a scientist with a lot of publications, a health official in Detroit, he is extremely impressive overall with all of his accolades, being a Rhodes Scholar,” Jeff Maltas, a Michigan resident and scientist told The Detroit News. 

“The health combined with the science, combined with somebody who cares about people in general, is a good base for a candidate," he said.

Growing up, El-Sayed and his family would spend summers in Egypt. He saw firsthand the disparity between his life in the U.S. and that of the Egyptian population.

El-Sayed's mother is Dr. Fatten Elkomy, who works as a nurse practitioner in the U.S. state of Missouri. He grew up with his father, Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed, and stepmother, who are both engineers and residents of Michigan.

Seeing the income disparities between Egypt and the U.S. as well as between rich and poor neighborhoods in America inspired El-Sayed to go into public service.

When he took on the director role of Detroit's health department, he told Detroit Free Press that he'd become "enraptured with" disparities. He also cited a specific research study that he reviewed as an undergrad as inspiration for entering public service. The study looked at how health professionals stigmatized Arabs following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The election won't be held until 2018 and El-Sayed is running as a Democrat. Currently, there are three other Democrats running in the election.

Michigan's current Republican governor, Rick Snyder, is unable to seek further reelection due to term limits in the state. Snyder's administration has faced significant controversy, overseeing negligence that left Flint, a city of some 100,000, with water supply poisoned by lead. The crisis has yet to be resolved and will cost the state hundreds of million dollars.

El-Sayed wants to address serious issues like the Flint water crisis as well as growing xenophobia during his campaign.

"I trust that people are really looking to something that will inspire them and I’m inspired by the people in this state,” he said. 

“I’m confident that people will recognize the truth of that and be a part of it.”