Dr. Saud Anwar
Our State Senator, Dr. Saud Anwar, has a long record of serving our community and delivering results for Connecticut families. A physician specializing in Lung Diseases and Critical Care Medicine, he currently serves as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals. In the State Senate, Senator Anwar has been a leader on early childhood care, pandemic recovery and making Connecticut safer and more affordable. He has:
➔ Secured over $600 million in savings for residents by, among other measures, cutting the state gas tax, extending sales-tax free week and providing free bus transportation
➔ Increased the minimum wage and passed one of the leading paid family and medical leave policies in the country
➔ Created a workforce pipeline and job creation taskforce and championed debt-free community college
➔ Lowered the cost of prescription drugs including insulin, reduced premiums for long-term care and increased protections against medical debt
➔ Improved access to health care, expanded telehealth services, ensured mental health care coverage by insurance companies, improved dental health coverage and expanded treatment options to combat the opioid epidemic
➔ Funded early childhood care including increasing the Child Tax Credit, exempting breastfeeding supplies from sales tax and passing one of the most comprehensive children’s mental health plans in the entire country
➔ Promoted public safety by combating catalytic converter theft, strengthening protections against domestic violence and child abuse, increasing resources to combat sex trafficking and leading state efforts to reduce juvenile crime
➔ Protected our environment and our families’ health by working to eliminate carcinogens from drinking water, increasing lead prevention and abatement efforts in homes, improving indoor air quality in schools and classrooms, increasing support for solar panels and saving thousands of households from bankruptcy by funding a program to fix crumbling concrete foundations.
➔ Protected net neutrality and personal data privacy to prevent intrusive online monitoring
➔ Protected our rights by expanding voting rights in Connecticut with absentee ballot voting and safe and secure in-person voting. safeguarding abortion rights in our state and protecting LGBTQ people who are under attack
Senator Anwar is involved in humanitarian and peace initiatives nationally and internationally. He is frequently invited to consult for our government and has organized medical missions for disaster relief. His efforts have been recognized at the state and federal levels and by several professional organizations. Senator Anwar has received citations for his service to the State from Governor Rell, Attorney General Blumenthal, Secretary of State Bysiewicz, and members of the Connecticut General Assembly. In addition, Senator Anwar is an expert on international affairs. He is frequently invited to appear on national and international television and radio. These have included: CNN Wolf Blitzer, CNN Deborah Fayereck, CNN Susan Candiotti, NBC-30, Fox-61, NPR, Vectone TV –UK, Geo TV- Forum, and Voice of America-International.
Senator Anwar and his wife, Dr. Yusra Anis-Anwar, who maintains a private practice in Internal Medicine, lives in South Windsor with their sons who attended the local elementary and middle schools, and Senator Anwar’s mother also lives in South Windsor.
Senator Anwar has received a number of awards for his service as a doctor and community leader including:
● Certificate of Appreciation: American Red Cross - For Services During the Disaster of September 11, 2001
● Federal Bureau of Investigation Award from Director Robert Mueller III: For Community Leadership and Alliance Building - November 2007
● Torch of Liberty Award: Anti-Defamation League - Centennial Award 2013
● Community Leadership Award from the US Attorney Office - December 2013
● CT Bridger Builder Chairman’s Award from the Windsor Human Relations Commision: In Recognition of his Outstanding Contribution to Human Relations by Encouraging Equal Opportunities for All People - January 2019
● Legislator of the Year Award: American College of Physicians - October 2021
● Keep The Promise Legislative Leadership Award from the Keep The Promise Coalition - November 2021
● Eastern Connecticut Health Network: Professionalism and Leadership Award, Voted by Peers - December 2021
● Social Justice Award from Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness - May 2022
Education and Training:
Medical Training: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine - Yale University
Master Degree in Public Health – Yale University
South Windsor:
Former Mayor of Town of South Windsor- 2013 to 2015, and 2017 to 2019.
Town Council Member 2011 to 2019.
Board Member - South Windsor Community Foundation
Former Chair - South Windsor Human Relations Commission.
President - South Windsor Haiti School Inc.
Founding Member - South Windsor Hunger Action Team
Founding Member - Zero Waste South Windsor
Founding Member - South Windsor Alliance for Progress
State of Connecticut:
Chair: Children’s Committee CT General Assembly
Acting Chair: Public Health Committee of the CT General Assembly
Vice Chair: Housing; Insurance & Real Estate of the CT General Assembly
Member: Appropriations; Judiciary; Planning & Development of the CT General Assembly
Former Commissioner - Asian Pacific American Affairs
Health Equity Leadership Council of Connecticut
Connecticut Safe School Climate Coalition
United States:
Testified to the 109th Congress - Committee on Homeland Security
Coordinated a volunteer response to September 11th
Consultant - FBIs Multi Cultural Advisory Committee
Conference Speaker - Department of Homeland Security
Conference Speaker - Office of Secretary Napolitano
International:
Consultant - British Department of Communities and Local Government
Chief Coordinator - Conference on Understanding Radicalization and
DeRadicalization Strategies, Hartford, CT. (Live broadcast throughout the world)
Peace Missions to Israel and Middle East.
Medical Mission - Haiti Disaster Relief.
Conference Speaker - US Mission to the European Union