Michael Edward Duggan was born on July 15, 1958. He is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 75th mayor of Detroit from 2014 to 2026. Before becoming mayor, Duggan worked as the Wayne County Prosecutor from 2001 to 2004 and as the deputy county executive of Wayne County from 1987 to 2001.

Duggan was part of the Democratic Party until 2024, when he became an independent. He is now running as an independent candidate in the 2026 Michigan gubernatorial election.

Early life and education

Duggan was born in Detroit on July 15, 1958, to Patrick J. Duggan and Joan Colosimo. His father's father was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, and moved to Detroit when he was 18. His father's mother was the child of Irish and German immigrants. Duggan lived on Stansbury Street on the city's west side until he was six years old. In 1963, he moved to Livonia, a city near Detroit. He graduated from Detroit Catholic Central High School. Duggan earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in 1980 and a Juris Doctor in 1983.

Early career

As a Democrat, Duggan has worked as both an appointed and elected official in Wayne County, Michigan. His career began in 1986 as Wayne County’s assistant corporation counsel. From 1987 to 2001, he served as deputy County Executive under Edward H. McNamara. In 2000, he was elected as a prosecutor. Additionally, he worked as the temporary general manager of SMART, the region’s public transit authority, from 1992 to 1996.

In 2004, Duggan became president and CEO of the Detroit Medical Center. He held this role when the organization, which was previously a nonprofit, was sold to Vanguard Health Systems, a publicly traded company, in 2010.

Mayor of Detroit

In 2012, Duggan left his job at the DMC and moved from Livonia to Detroit, planning to run for mayor the next year. However, he did not qualify for the ballot because he filed his candidacy less than a year after moving to the city. If he had waited two more weeks to file, which still would have met the deadline, he would have qualified. Instead, he ran as a write-in candidate and received 52 percent of the vote in the August primary election. Detroit uses a two-round system, meaning the top two vote-getters compete in the general election. Duggan faced Benny Napoleon, who received 29 percent of the vote. Duggan’s campaign slogan was “Every neighborhood has a future,” and his platform focused on improving the city’s finances, reducing crime, and boosting economic growth. He won 55 percent of the vote in the general election in November, becoming the first white mayor of Detroit since Roman Gribbs, who served from 1970 to 1974.

During his first term, Duggan prioritized improving emergency response times and bus services. He also led a large-scale demolition program, though it was controversial. Duggan proposed creating a city-owned insurance company called “D Insurance,” but the bill did not pass in the Michigan Legislature. Detroit’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent by 2017, even though the city’s population continued to decline. He also started the “Grow Detroit’s Young Talent” program, which employed thousands of young people during the summer.

In 2017, the city began issuing Detroit ID, a municipal identification card that helps residents without a social security number access city services and some banks. Toward the end of his first term, Duggan created a city office focused on sustainability and environmental planning, which later developed a citywide sustainability action plan. His approach to graffiti received praise for cleanup efforts but faced criticism for fining property owners who did not remove graffiti within seven days. He also required murals to be registered with the city.

In the 2017 mayoral election, Duggan was re-elected with 72 percent of the vote, defeating challenger Coleman Young II, who received 27 percent. In 2018, Detroit ended state oversight, giving the city full control over its operations for the first time in 40 years.

In 2019, a report by Detroit’s Office of Inspector General found that Duggan had given special treatment to the nonprofit Make Your Date by directing city resources to it. The report also stated that his chief of staff and two other aides ordered public employees to delete emails related to the nonprofit. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel investigated the matter. In September 2020, Duggan and the city received the “Golden Padlock Award,” an honor given to the most secretive U.S. agency or individual.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Duggan was credited with organizing mass testing efforts. In March 2021, he initially refused to order 6,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, stating he preferred Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. After public criticism, he changed his stance and accepted the vaccine.

In his second term, Duggan focused on distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. In February 2021, he traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with other leaders and President Joe Biden to discuss pandemic responses. In December 2021, he announced plans to demolish the abandoned American Motors Headquarters building.

Duggan was re-elected for a third term in the 2021 mayoral election. He and city council members developed a $203 million plan to provide affordable housing for residents.

In 2023, Duggan proposed a land value tax, which would increase taxes on empty land while reducing taxes on homes and businesses. State Representative Stephanie Young introduced similar legislation, but the tax failed to pass in the Michigan House of Representatives.

In 2023, Detroit recorded its first year of net population growth since 1957, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Before this, Duggan had sued the bureau, claiming it had undercounted the city’s population.

In November 2024, Duggan announced he would not seek a fourth term as mayor.

Personal life

Duggan was married to Mary Loretto Maher for more than 30 years, and they had four children. In May 2019, Maher asked for a divorce. The divorce officially ended on September 17, 2019.

On June 29, 2021, Duggan announced that he was engaged to Dr. Sonia Hassan, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Duggan and Hassan were known to the public before his divorce from Maher. People talked about their relationship, and some questioned if Duggan and the city gave more help or support to a program led by Hassan at Wayne State University. Duggan married Hassan in 2021.