Senator Sheikh Rahman ** represents **Georgia State Senate District 5, encompassing portions of Lawrenceville, Norcross, Duluth, Tucker, and Lilburn in Gwinnett County, Georgia's most diverse county. Elected in 2018 and sworn in on January 14, 2019, he is the first immigrant, first Asian-American, and first Muslim to serve in the Georgia State Senate. Born in Bangladesh into a prominent political family, he endured the 1971 Liberation War, including being kidnapped at age 13 as a prisoner of war. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1981 amid the Iranian hostage crisis, facing xenophobia but persevering through hard work. Rahman became a U.S. citizen in 1995 after 14 years and built a career as a business owner, working early jobs like dishwasher while managing rental properties and roles at companies including Domino's and Kroger. He lives in Lawrenceville with his wife of over 26 years, Sham'e Afrose, and their two children.

Notable achievements include co-sponsoring ten bills signed into law on human trafficking, stalking, veterans' issues, and food insecurity; advocating for local election control and public education; receiving the Rising Environmental Leader Award from the National Council of Environmental Legislators; and being named one of Atlanta’s 500 Most Powerful Leaders. He serves on the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Government Oversight, Special Judiciary, State Institutions and Property, and Urban Affairs committees.

Education and Political Experience

Rahman attended Central Piedmont Community College, funding his studies through low-wage work, and later earned an undergraduate degree in Economics & Global Studies from the University of Georgia, where he was elected Student Senator and President of the Global Studies Association.

His political journey began as a community college student volunteering on a North Carolina gubernatorial campaign. Post-2008, he joined the NAACP, National Action Network, ACLU, and Democratic Party of Georgia. He serves on the Democratic National Committee's Executive Committee—the first Muslim elected to this U.S. role—and is a member of its Labor, Asian-American, and LGBT caucuses, as well as a SuperDelegate for Georgia and advisor to the Alliance of South Asian American Labor . He also sits on the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia.