Nadia Mohamed (born c. 1996) is an American politician and current mayor of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Mohamed is the first Somali American elected as mayor of a US city.[1][2][lower-alpha 1]

Mohamed immigrated to the United States with her family as refugees at the age of 10.[3][4] She subsequently lived in St. Louis Park. She has a bachelor's degree in HR from Metropolitan State University. Her community work in St. Louis Park resulted in her receiving the city's Human Rights Award in 2018.[5] In 2019, at age 23, she was elected to the city council, becoming its youngest-ever and first Muslim member.[6]

The Star Tribune described her 2023 mayoral campaign as focused on "investment in community policing and programs to make homeownership more affordable."[6] On November 7, 2023, Mohamed defeated retired banker Dale A. Anderson in the municipal election to succeed outgoing Mayor Jake Spano.[6] Endorsed by Spano, she won 58% of the vote.[6][7]

When the New York Times asked about her political role models, she said she was "more of a Maya Angelou girl....She has long commented on the injustices of the world in a beautiful way."[8] Her political awakening was in 2016 when she was in college.[8] She had only known Barack Obama as President. When Trump ran for President and attacked the Somali community in Minnesota,[9] that led her to reach out to her community in St. Louis Park to connect people. She was asked to consider running for office after that community organizing work.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Deqa Dhalac, of South Portland, was the first Somali-American mayor in the United States, but was selected by the city council, not elected in an open election.

References

  1. ↑ Nelson, Kara (November 9, 2023). "'A moment of a lifetime': Nadia Mohamed celebrates becoming nation's first elected Somali American mayor". CNN.
  2. ↑ Ali, Ubah (8 November 2023). "St. Louis Park's Nadia Mohamed is 1st Somali-American to be elected mayor in U.S." CBS News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Skluzacek, Josh (2023-11-08). "After historic vote, St. Louis Park's Nadia Mohamed shares immigration story that sparked her run for mayor". KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  4. ↑ Mascadde, Mohamud (November 8, 2023). "Former Somali Refugee Elected Mayor of Minnesota City, Making History". Voice of America. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  5. ↑ Klecker, Mara (6 January 2020). "St. Louis Park's youngest and first Somali-American city council member sworn in". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Albertson-Grove, Josie (7 November 2023). "St. Louis Park's Nadia Mohamed becomes first Somali American elected mayor in U.S." Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Minnesota city is believed to be the first in the US to elect a Somali American as mayor". AP News. 2023-11-08. Archived from the original on 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  8. 1 2 3 Hassan, Adeel (2023-11-26). "The New Face of a City of 50,000 People". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  9. ↑ "Trump's comments on MN Somalis draw sharp response". MPR News. 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-28.

See also


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