Youssef Abassi

Youssef Mehdi Abassi (born June 8, 1976) is a Brunanter Green Party politician and environmentalist. In addition, Abassi is currently a representative in the Congress and the incumbent Minister of Transport and Communications. Abassi was born in Carrington to Moroccan immigrants, and later studied Political Science and History at the Royal University of Koningstad.

Biography
Youseff Mehdi Abassi was born on June 8, 1976 in Carrington to Oumaima and Ayoub Abassi, who had emigrated from Morocco two years previously. Abassi has two older sisters, Yasmine and Lina. Yasmine is a fashion designer and Lina is a legal consultant based in Koningstad. His family were of working class roots, with the family living in a small apartment in the suburbs of Carrington. His father was a bus driver, whilst his mother was a housewife, although she later qualified as a nurse.

Abassi excelled at school from a young age, particularly within the subjects of languages and sciences. Upon graduating from high school, Abassi was offered a scholarship to study Political Science and History at the Royal University of Koningstad. After graduating, Abassi planned to teach History at a local high school in his hometown of Carrington, although he withdrew from a postgraduate teaching course to instead focus on a political career. Soon after, Abassi joined the Green Party, establishing a position within a leftist faction of the party. Abassi then started campaigning with the party on issues such as healthcare and environmental causes. In 2011, Abassi became a party spokesperson in the areas of transport and communication, helping to shape party policy and procedure in these areas.

At the 2013 General Elections, Abassi was elected to the Congress, and in the new government was appointed as Minister of Transport and Communications.

Personal life
Abassi is married to Ines Lange, whom he met at university in 1996. The couple have one daughter, Jihane, who was born in 2012. In addition to his native languages English and Arabic, Abassi speaks Dutch, French and Italian. Despite the fact that his parents are Muslim, Abassi is an atheist.

Politically, Abassi is a leftist, and has described himself as a social democrat, a social liberal and a progressive. In the past, Abassi has also advocated equal opportunity, social justice and social rights such as same-sex marriage.