The city council of St. Louis Park, Minnesota recently welcomed Nadia Mohamed as its mayor, making her the first Somali-American elected mayor in the United States.
Ms. Mohamed won last November’s mayoral election by securing 58% of the vote.
As the youngest, Muslim, and black elected mayor in the city, she hopes to be recognized for her work, rather than her identity.
Ms. Mohamed has identified public safety and affordable housing as some of the key issues she intends to tackle during her mayoral tenure.
Her family moved to Minnesota from Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, after fleeing war in Somalia when she was 10.
The city of South Portland in Maine appointed Deqa Dhalac as its first Somali-American mayor in 2021, but Ms. Mohamed is the first to be elected by the public.
