# Ilhan Omar

> Ilhan Omar (born 1982): Mogadishu-born former refugee, first Somali American in the US Congress, since 2019.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/ilhan-omar/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is she?

Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is a member of the US House of Representatives for Minnesota's 5th district, which includes Minneapolis ([Wikipedia, Ilhan Omar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar)). She was sworn in in January 2019 ([Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, official site](https://omar.house.gov/about)). This page covers her public role only. It does not take sides on her politics.

## Early life

She was born in Mogadishu on 4 October 1982 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar)). She spent her early years in Baidoa, in southern Somalia, and was the youngest of seven children (same source). Her family fled the civil war when she was eight. They spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya ([official site](https://omar.house.gov/about)). Wikipedia names the camp as Dadaab ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar)). See [refugee camps](/en/diaspora/refugee-camps/).

## Coming to America

The family reached New York in 1995 and settled in Minneapolis in 1997 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar)). At 14 she interpreted for her grandfather at local political meetings (same source). She graduated from North Dakota State University in 2011 (same source). She worked as a community educator at the University of Minnesota and as a policy aide at Minneapolis City Council ([official site](https://omar.house.gov/about)). See [Somalis in Minneapolis–St Paul](/en/diaspora/minneapolis-st-paul/).

## State legislator

In November 2016 she won a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar)). She became the first Somali-American legislator in the United States (same source).

## Congress

In 2018 she won the 5th district with 78 per cent of the vote ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar)). Her office lists her as the first African refugee to become a member of Congress ([official site](https://omar.house.gov/about)). She is the first woman of colour to represent Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim women in Congress (same source). She took her oath on her grandfather's copy of the Qur'an ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar)). She won a fourth term in 2024 (same source).

## In the news in 2026

She has received death threats, and a man was arrested in January 2026 over threats against her ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar)). In October 2026 federal agents searched her Washington home under a court warrant (same source). Reports linked it to questions about her family's immigration papers from her childhood (same source). The matter was open at the time of writing.

## In short

A former refugee from Kenya who represents a Minneapolis district in the US House of Representatives.

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