Sharon Sayles Belton

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Sharon Sayles Belton (born May 13, 1951) is an American politician who was the first African-American mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the first female mayor of the city. She was born in neighboring Saint Paul, Minnesota. Sayles Belton began serving on the Minneapolis City Council in the early 1980s, and represented the state at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, which saw Minnesota politician Walter Mondale nominated for President of the United States. She was on the council for ten years before winning the 1993 city election to become mayor. Her term lasted from January 1, 1994 to December 31, 2001. She was defeated by fellow Democrat R.T. Rybak.

After leaving office, Sayles Belton soon took a position at the University of Minnesota. She is a Senior Fellow at the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice, which is part of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.