A Nigerian, Zulfat Suara has made history as she became the first Muslim to be elected to Nashville’s Metro Council. Suara was elected to fill one of
A Nigerian, Zulfat Suara has made history as she became the first Muslim to be elected to Nashville’s Metro Council. Suara was elected to fill one of the five At-Large council seats. Suara joins Bob Mendes, Sharon Hurt, Burkley Allen, and Steve Glover as the newly elected At-Large members.
In the August 1 election, Suara received the second-most votes of the At-Large candidates, trailing only Bob Mendes. Mendes secured over 10 percent of the vote and did not have to take part in Thursday’s runoff election.
Suara is a Certified Public Accountant and works as the Assistant Controller at Meharry Medical College. She emigrated from Nigeria in 1993 and moved to Nashville in 1998 after her husband was accepted to a fellowship program at Vanderbilt.
According to the Election Commission’s website, Suara received 34,237 votes, exactly 13 percent of the vote. The results will be certified next week, according to Jeff Roberts with the Election Commission.
Zulfat Suara came to the U.S. in 1993 and settled in Tennessee when the opportunity for her husband to do a fellowship at Vanderbilt presented itself. She has been active in community service and leadership since she moved there in 1998, all while working full-time as a CPA. Zulfat founded an accounting firm that has worked with county governments in Hardeman, Haywood, Lake, and McNairy counties. She is currently the Assistant Controller of a local university in Nashville.
Zuarat Suara attended The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Nigeria where she obtained HND in Accountancy (1985 – 1990). Also furthered after arriving to the US IN University of Maryland taking up US Tax Law in 1996
Always active in her community, she started the Hardeman County Chapter of Junior Achievement in 2004 and continues to advocate for children and young people as a board member of the PENCIL Foundation. Zulfat has served in a number of leadership positions including the chair of the American Muslim Advisory Council. She has supported women, serving two terms as State President of the Business and Professional Women, a century-old organization promoting equity for all women in the workplace, from 2009-2011.
She is active politically as treasurer of the National Women’s Political Caucus and chair of Day on the Hill, a joint legislative day for several women’s organizations on issues affecting Tennessee women and children. She has also been a speaker at the Nashville Women’s March each year since 2017.
Zulfat Suara has been recognized with the FBI Directors’ Community Leadership Award and featured in the Jackson Sun’s Twenty Most Influential Women in West Tennessee. She was named the 2018 Muslim Policy Advocate of the Year by Islamic Society of North America, and The Tennessee Economic Council on Women inducted her into its Tennessee Women Hall of Fame in 2015. Zulfat recently received an award for Outstanding Service to Human Rights from the TN Human Rights Commission and currently serves as a board member of the Nashville Metro Action Commission.
Zulfat Suara has been married for 27 years to Dr. Rahaman Suara and they are blessed with five amazing children. Her work in the community has been selfless and humble as she has served only on a volunteer basis. Now, she hopes to continue that service as a member of Metro Council and make Davidson County a better place for all of Nashville.
