Lili Bosse

Lili Bosse
Official portrait, 2013
73rd, 76th, and 82nd Mayor of Beverly Hills
In office
April 5, 2022 (2022-04-05) – April 4, 2023 (2023-04-04)
Preceded byRobert Wunderlich
In office
March 28, 2017 (2017-03-28) – March 20, 2018 (2018-03-20)
Preceded byJohn A. Mirisch
Succeeded byJulian Gold
In office
March 25, 2014 (2014-03-25) – March 24, 2015 (2015-03-24)
Preceded byJohn A. Mirisch
Succeeded byJulian Gold
Personal details
Born
Lili Toren

(1961-10-06) October 6, 1961
Rego Park, New York, U.S.
SpouseJon Bosse
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
ProfessionPolitician, philanthropist

Lili Bosse (née Toren; born October 6, 1961) is an American politician and philanthropist who served three non-consecutive terms as Mayor of Beverly Hills, California (2014–15, 2017–18, 2022–23). She has been a member of the Beverly Hills City Council since 2011.

Early life

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

Her parents met in Israel shortly after World War II⁣⁣ and later immigrated to the United States.[7][8] Her mother, Rosalia Toren (née Orenstein), was born in Poland and authored two books about her experiences escaping from the Auschwitz concentration camp. She died in February 2015.[9][7][10] Bosse's father, Jack Toren, died in 1993.[9]

Bosse graduated from the University of Southern California.[6][1][11]

Political career

Bosse served 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.[6][1][11] She was elected Beverly Hills City Council in 2011.[6][11][12]

In 2013, Bosse was appointed vice mayor, and in March 2014, she was sworn in as mayor for the first time at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Actor Sidney Poitier administered the oath of office. Poitier had previously sworn her in as vice mayor in 2013.[12][13][14]

That year, Bosse supported a City Council resolution urging Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, to divest from the Beverly Hills Hotel after his government adopted Islamic sharia law.[15][16] She stated she would not visit the hotel until the issue was resolved.[17][18]

In May 2014, Bosse led a delegation to China to promote trade between Beverly Hills and Chinese cities, with a focus on luxury industries. Stops included Beijing, Guangzhou, and Wuhan.[19]

Bosse began her second term as mayor in March 2017. She relaunched her "Walk With the Mayor" program and announced a partnership between the City of Beverly Hills and author Deepak Chopra.[20] In August 2017, she introduced the Beverly Hills Open Later Days (BOLD) initiative, encouraging extended evening hours for businesses on Rodeo Drive and elsewhere.[5][21][22]

In April 2022, Bosse was sworn in for a third term as mayor.[23] During this period, she launched the Real Time Watch Centre to monitor public areas and introduced a "BHPD Alert" system to provide residents with updates on police activity.[24]

In October 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini and protests in Iran, Bosse led the City Council in passing a resolution calling for sanctions on Iran and its removal from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.[25]

In December 2022, she participated in the second annual Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in Athens, Greece, where leaders from 53 cities and 23 countries signed a declaration to combat antisemitism through education, awareness, and interfaith cooperation.[26]

Philanthropy

Bosse has been active in philanthropic causes. She served as president of the Beverly Hills Education Foundation and received the Spirit of Philanthropy Award.[6][1][11] She contributed to the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden and is a founding member of the Police and Community Together organization.[27][1]

In 2013, she 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. As part of this donation, her mother’s name, Rose Orenstein Toren, was included in the credits of all subsequent Moriah Films productions.[7] That year, the couple also joined the Southern California Regional Council of Birthright Israel.[28]

Bosse co-founded Visionary Women, a nonprofit organization focused on women in leadership, where she serves on the executive board. She is also a fellow of Vital Voices, a global women's leadership network.[29][30]

Personal life

Bosse is married to Jon Bosse, the co-president and chief investment officer of NWQ, an affiliate of Nuveen Investments.[1][31] The couple has two sons and resides in Beverly Hills, California.[6][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Elect Lili Bosse: Biography". Archived from the original on July 7, 2014.
  2. ^ Michael Aushenker, L.A. Women's Circuit, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, October 4, 2001
  3. ^ 1939 Club, Holocaust commemorative: in memory of the six million, The Club, 1978, pp. 15; 112 [1]
  4. ^ Harter, Clara (March 29, 2024). "The Indelible Legacy of Lili Bosse". Beverly Hills Courier. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Velten, Elspeth (January 22, 2018). "In the World's Most Famous ZIP Code, Don't Settle for Just Any Tour Guide". Vogue. Retrieved January 23, 2018. Lili Bosse grew up in the Rego Park section of Queens, New York, until the age of 9, when her family moved west to Beverly Hills.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Lili Bosse". www.beverlyhills.org.
  7. ^ a b c Lopez, Matt (April 12, 2013). "Beverly Hills Resident, Holocaust Survivor Rose Toren Turns 90" (PDF). Beverly Hills Courier. pp. 4, 7. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  8. ^ Sommer, Ariane (May 25, 2014). "Die Bossin von Beverly Hills". Welt am Sonntag; Berlin (in German). p. 13.
  9. ^ a b Al Martinez, Her Name Is Rose, The Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1995
  10. ^ Auschwitz Survivor Rose Toren Passed Away Today, The Beverly Hills Courier
  11. ^ a b c d Meet the Mayors: Lili Bosse of Beverly Hills, LA Tech Digest
  12. ^ a b "About the City Council". City of Beverly Hills. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  13. ^ Lopez, Matt (March 29, 2013). "Antonovich, Poitier, Pregerson, Yaroslavsky Swear In Beverly Hills City Councilmembers" (PDF). pp. 1, 3. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  14. ^ New Mayor Lili Bosse Wants Beverly Hills to be the Healthiest City in the World Archived June 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Beverly Hills Courier, March 26, 2014
  15. ^ Michael Cieply, Hotel Boycott Grows Over Brunei Penal Code, The New York Times, May 5, 2014
  16. ^ Reuters, Beverly Hills Confronts Brunei Over Sharia Law, Voice of America, May 7, 2014
  17. ^ Ted Johnson, City Council Passes Resolution Urging Brunei to Sell Beverly Hills Hotel, Variety, May 6, 2014
  18. ^ Ben Child, Hollywood councillors ask sultan of Brunei to sell hotel over anti-gay stance, The Guardian, May 7, 2014
  19. ^ Victoria Talbot, Beverly Hills News – Mayor Traveling to China on Trade Mission Archived May 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Beverly Hills Courier, May 21, 2014
  20. ^ "Bosse Announces Beverly Hills Partnership With Deepak Chopra". The Beverly Hills Courier. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  21. ^ Halberg, Morgan (December 19, 2017). "Why Beverly Hills Is a Holiday Vacation Destination". The New York Observer; New York, N.Y.
  22. ^ Talbot, Victoria (March 31, 2017). "Who's the Bosse" (PDF). The Beverly Hills Courier. Vol. LI, no. 13. pp. 1, 19. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  23. ^ "Lili Bosse Elected As Mayor Of Beverly Hills". Canyon News. April 6, 2022.
  24. ^ "Bosse Delivers State of City Address to Record Crowd". beverlyhillscourier.com. September 29, 2022.
  25. ^ Reyes-Benítez, Omar (October 14, 2022). "City Council Denounces Iranian Government and Issues Resolution". Beverly Hills Courier. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  26. ^ "Bosse Signs Historic Declaration at Antisemitism Summit". Beverly Hills Courier. December 1, 2022.
  27. ^ "Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden – Supporters". Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  28. ^ "Birthright Israel: Annual Report, 2013" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  29. ^ "Lili Bosse | Leadership | Visionary Women". www.visionarywomen.com.
  30. ^ "Lili Bosse 2021 Fellow; Visionary Women". www.vitalvoices.org.
  31. ^ "NWQ: Jon D. Bosse". nuveen.com.