Severiano
de Heredia (8 November 1836 – 9 February 1901) was a Cuban-born
biracial politician, a freemason, a left-wing republican, naturalized as
French in 1870, who was president of the municipal council of Paris
from 1 August 1879 to 12 February 1880, making him the first mayor of
African descent of a Western world capital.
He served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1881 to 1889 and was minister
of public works for the cabinet of Maurice Rouvier in 1887, where he
planned and oversaw the construction of some of the finest French
highways. He also made his reputation by campaigning for the abolition
of slavery in Cuba and Brazil. He is believed to be a cousin of the
famous French poet, José-Maria de Heredia.
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