Cyrus Habib

About Cyrus Habib

Cyrus Habib entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 2020. After completing a two year novitiate in Los Angeles, he began his philosophy and theology studies in Chicago as part of the training that will eventually lead to his ordination as a Catholic priest. He currently lives in Nairobi where he works at the Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network of Africa as part of that training process. As a Jesuit, he has worked alongside and on behalf of those experiencing homelessness in Chicago, lived with a community of adults with intellectual disabilities in Tacoma, cared for nursing home patients in Los Angeles, and taught high school English in Seattle.

Prior to becoming a Jesuit, Cyrus served as Washington State’s 16^th Lieutenant Governor, having been elected in 2016 at the age of 35. He also served as Washington’s Acting Governor for over six months. He was previously elected to the State House of Representatives in 2012 and the State Senate in 2014, where he was Democratic Whip.

He was the first blind lawmaker elected in 50 years, and the first and still only Iranian-American elected to statewide office in the US. A Seattle native, Cyrus was born to parents who emigrated from Iran in the 1970s.

Cyrus received his B.A. summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in 2003, where he double-majored in Middle East Studies and English and Comparative Literature. He then attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, obtaining an MLitt in Postcolonial English Literature. In 2009, Cyrus graduated from Yale Law School.

A Truman Scholar, Cyrus worked for Senators Cantwell and Clinton during his college years. At Yale, he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal, and during his second year in law school he worked part-time for Goldman Sachs' Private Equity Group in New York. 

From 2009—2013 Cyrus practiced law at the Seattle office of Perkins Coie. While in the Legislature, he also taught courses at Seattle University Law School as Distinguished Lawmaker in Residence.

New York Times: A Politician Takes a Sledgehammer to His Own Ego.

Jesuits: Meet the Lieutenant Governor Who Quit Politics to Become a Jesuit with Cyrus Habib, SJ.