Lili Bosse

Lili Bosse (née Toren; born October 6, 1961) is an American politician who served as mayor of Beverly Hills, California. She held three non-consecutive terms as mayor between 2014 and 2023.

Bosse was born on October 6, 1961^[1] in Rego Park, Queens, New York City, to Rosalia and Jack Toren, who were Holocaust survivors. ^[2][3][4] Much of her extended family was killed in the Holocaust.^[5] At the age of nine, her family relocated to Beverly Hills, California.^[6][7][2]

Her parents met in Israel shortly after World War II⁣⁣ and later immigrated to the United States.^[8][9] Her mother, Rosalia Toren (née Orenstein), was born in Poland and authored two books about her experiences after escaping from the Auschwitz concentration camp. She passed away in February 2015.^[10][8][11] Bosse's father, Jack Toren, passed away in 1993.^[10]

Bosse graduated from the University of Southern California.^[7][2][12]

Bosse's political career began with her service on the Beverly Hills Traffic and Parking Commission from 1997 to 2002. She later served on the Beverly Hills Planning Commission from 2007 to 2011. ^[7][2][12] In 2011, Bosse was elected to the five-member Beverly Hills City Council for a four-year term. ^[7][12][13]

In 2013, she was appointed vice mayor by the City Council. In 2014, she was appointed as mayor of Beverly Hills for the first time. ^[13][14][15] Her swearing-in ceremony took place on March 25, 2014, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, with actor Sidney Poitier administering the oath of office. Poitier had previously sworn her in as vice mayor in 2013. ^{[15] [14]}

In 2014, she supported a resolution urging Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, to sell The Beverly Hills Hotel following the Sultan's imposition of Islamic Sharia in his country. ^[16][17][18] Bosse decided not to visit the hotel until the situation was resolved.^[16][19]

Bosse led a delegation to China in May 2014 to promote trade between China and Beverly Hills, particularly in the luxury industries, visiting the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, and Wuhan. ^[20]

Bosse began her second term as mayor in March 2017, during which she relaunched her weekly "Walk With the Mayor" program and announced a partnership between the City of Beverly Hills and author Deepak Chopra. ^[21] In August 2017, she introduced the Beverly Hills Open Later Days (BOLD) initiative, which encouraged local businesses, particularly on Rodeo Drive, to extend their hours of operation into the evening. ^[6][22][23]

In April 2022, Bosse was re-elected mayor for a third term.^[24] She also launched the Real Time Watch Center to monitor public areas and introduced a "BHPD Alert" system to provide real-time information on police activities to residents. ^[25]

In October 2022, following the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran, Bosse led the City Council in adopting a resolution calling for increased sanctions on Iran and for the United Nations to expel Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.^[26]

In December 2022, she participated in the second annual Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in Athens, Greece. At the summit, Bosse and municipal leaders from 53 cities and 23 countries signed a declaration committing to fight antisemitism through education, awareness, and interfaith cooperation.^[27]

Bosse has been involved in several philanthropic activities. She served as president of the Beverly Hills Education Foundation and received the Spirit of Philanthropy Award.^[7][2][12] She donated to the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden and is a founding member of the Police and Community Together organization. ^{[28] [2]}

Bosse and her husband, Jon Bosse, donated $100,000 to the Moriah Films division of the Simon Wiesenthal Center to honor her mother's 90th birthday in 2013. As part of this donation, the center has agreed to include her mother's name, Rose Orenstein Toren, in the credits of all documentaries subsequently produced by the center.^[8] In 2013, she and her husband served on the Southern California Regional Council of Birthright Israel.^[29]

Bosse co-founded Visionary Women, a nonprofit organization focused on women in leadership, and serves on its executive board. She is also a fellow of Vital Voices, a global women's leadership organization. ^{[30] [31]}

Bosse is married to Jon Bosse, the co-president and chief investment officer of NWQ, an affiliate of Nuveen Investments.^[2][32] The couple has two sons and resides in Beverly Hills, California.^[7][2]