Ollie Mohamed

Ollie Mohamed was born on February 7, 1925, in Shaw, Mississippi.[1] He was the oldest child and son of ethnically Syrian Lebanese-born Muslim merchant Hassan Mohamed and Ethel (Wright) Mohamed.[2][3][4][5] Hassan's original name was Hassan Mohamed Shouman; his last name became his middle name due to a transcription error when he immigrated to the United States.[4][6] Ollie and his siblings were raised as Baptists, their mother's faith.[4][7] Mohamed attended Belzoni High School in Belzoni, Mississippi.[1] In 1942, he was the first 18-year-old draft into World War II.[8][9] Mohamed was a merchant and a farmer.[1][8]

He represented Mississippi's 30th senatorial district in the state senate from 1964 to 1968.[7] After the districts were re-districted, he then represented the 19th district in the Senate from 1968 to 1972.[10] In 1971, he sponsored legislation to create the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.[9] He represented the state's 21st district in the Senate from 1980 to 1994.[1][11][12][9] In 1992, he was the President pro tempore of the Mississippi Senate.[12][8][9] He was defeated for re-election in 1992 when the districts were changed again.[6] He died in his home in Belzoni, Mississippi, on April 6, 2008.[8][6]

Mohamed was married to Annelle Horne.[10][8] They had six children.[13]