Ilhan Omar

Early life

Omar was born in 1982 in Somalia. She was the youngest of seven siblings, and grew up in an upper middle class household. Ilhan's father, Nur Omar Mohamed, is Somali, and worked as a teacher trainer. Her mother was Yemeni, and died when she was a child. She was thereafter raised by her father and grandfather. Ilhan's grandfather, Abukar, was the director of Somalia's National Marine Transport, with her uncles and aunts also working as civil servants and educators. After the start of the civil war in 1991, she and her family fled the country and spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya.

In 1995, Omar and her family emigrated to the United States. The Omars initially settled in Arlington, Virginia. In 1995, they moved to Minneapolis, where Ilhan quickly learned English in only three months. Her father and grandfather inculcated in her the importance of democracy. She also began to accompany her grandfather to caucus meetings at age 14, serving as his translator.

Omar attended Edison High School, and volunteered there as a student organizer. After high school, she attended North Dakota State University, where she participated in the Muslim Student Association. She graduated with bachelor's degrees in political science and international studies.

Career

Omar began her professional career as a Community Nutrition Educator with the University of Minnesota. She worked in this capacity from 2006 to 2009 in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area. In 2012, Omar served as a Campaign Manager for Kari Dzeidzik's bid for a legislative seat in the Minnesota State Senate. Between 2012 and 2013, she was a Child Nutrition Outreach Coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Education.

Omar later worked as a Campaign Manager for Andrew Johnson, as he ran for a municipal seat in Minneapolis' Ward 12 in 2013. Following Johnson's successful election to the Minneapolis City Council, Omar served as the Senior Policy Aide in his office from 2013 to 2015. During a contentious precinct caucus that turned violent in February 2014, she was attacked by five people and incurred some injuries. According to the MinnPost, the day before the caucus, Minneapolis City Council member Abdi Warsame had told Johnson to warn Omar to not attend the meeting or there could be trouble for her.

As of September 2015, Omar is the Director of Policy & Initiatives of the Women Organizing Women Network. The association advocates for women from East Africa to take on civic and political leadership roles.

Omar's volunteer experience and areas of interest include politics, education, civil rights and social action, poverty alleviation, human rights, environmental issues, animal welfare, and economic empowerment. She supports a $15 per hour minimum wage. With regard to scholastic affordability, she advocates free tuition for students with a family income below $125,000 as well as greater accessibility to student loan forgiveness programs.

In 2016, Omar presented herself as a legislative candidate on the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) ticket for the Minnesota House of Representatives. Her chief opponent in the general election was Republican Party nominee Abdimalik Askar, also an activist in the Somali American community. In late August, Askar announced his withdrawal from the campaign due to the death of his father and graduate studies.

On August 9, 2016, Omar defeated Phyllis Kahn and Mohamud Noor in the DFL primary to become the nominee for the 2016 Minnesota House election for district 60B. Shortly after she secured the nomination, the conservative Power Line blog questioned the legal status of her marriage vows and wedding license. According to her colleague Andrew Johnson, the timing of the story suggested that the motive was to diminish her image. Omar herself speculated that the allegations were planted by previously elected officials within her community and singled out Abdi Warsame, suggesting that he felt threatened by her growing political clout.

In November 2016, Omar won the general election, becoming the first Somali American legislator in the United States. She officially began her term in the Minnesota House of Representatives on January 3, 2017.

Awards

In 2014, Omar was named a Rising Star in the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party's Women's Hall of Fame.

She was also presented the 2015 Community Leadership Award at the African Awards by Mshale, an African immigrant media outlet based in Minneapolis. The prize is annually awarded on a readership basis.

Memberships

Omar is a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Personal life

Omar is Muslim.

In 2002, at age 19, she began a relationship with Ahmed Hirsi (né Ahmed Aden). They were engaged to be married that year and applied for a marriage license, but the application was never finalized. The pair had three children together, before separating in 2008. In 2009, Omar wed Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. The couple had a faith-based divorce in 2011, and as of 2016, they are reportedly in the process of legally divorcing. In 2011, Omar reconciled with Hirsi and they were married in a traditional ceremony. She, Hirsi (whom she refers to as her husband), and their three children live in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis.