--- title: Ilhan Omar: Minnesota's Somali-American Female Legislator description: Former refugee Ilhan Omar became America's first Somali-American Muslim woman legislator after her victory in the Minnesota House race canonical: https://time.com/4564296/ilhan-omar-first-somali-legislator/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-09T15:41:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:44:47.646Z article:section: Politics og:title: Minnesota Elects First Somali-American Female Legislator og:description: Ilhan Omar became America's first Somali-American woman legislator og:url: https://time.com/4564296/ilhan-omar-first-somali-legislator/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2530e944172103d7/6988adc0a988ca29ca6ba178/gettyimages-621811306.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5200 og:image:height: 2925 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-ELECTION og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Minnesota Elects First Somali-American Female Legislator twitter:description: Ilhan Omar became America's first Somali-American woman legislator twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2530e944172103d7/6988adc0a988ca29ca6ba178/gettyimages-621811306.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Minnesota Elects First Somali-American Female Legislator > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Nov 9, 2016 3:41 PM UTC  Ilhan Omar, a candidate for State Representative for District 60B in Minnesota, gives an acceptance speech on election night, November 8, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ilhan Omar, a candidate for State Representative for District 60B in Minnesota, gives an acceptance speech on election night, November 8, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. STEPHEN MATUREN—AFP/Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Nov 9, 2016 3:41 PM UTC Although the U.S. did not [elect](http://time.com/4563685/donald-trump-wins/?xid=homepage) its first female president Tuesday night, one woman still made history. Former refugee Ilhan Omar, who proudly wears the hijab, became America’s first Somali-American Muslim woman legislator after she claimed a strong victory in the Minnesota House race. The 34-year-old moved to the U.S. at the age of 12, after four years living in a Kenyan refugee camp following her escape from the Somali civil war, the [_Star Tribune_](http://www.startribune.com/ilhan-omar-will-be-nation-s-first-somali-american-legislator/400478961/) reports. As well as her political duties, she is director of policy at Women Organizing Women Network—a group that aims to empower all women, particularly first and second generation immigrants, to become engaged citizens and community leaders. > [](https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/796188582650281984) House Minority Leader Paul Thissen told the _Tribune_ that Omar’s victory “says something important about the future of Minnesota, and what it means to be a Minnesotan.” Speaking to [_The Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/29/minnesota-candidate-ilhan-omar-district-seat-super-tuesday) earlier this year, Omar said she believed her representation could change how people see the political process. “For me, this is my country, this is for my future, for my children’s future and for my grandchildren’s future to make our democracy more vibrant, more inclusive, more accessible and transparent which is going to be useful for all of us,” she said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4564296/ilhan-omar-first-somali-legislator/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4564296/ilhan-omar-first-somali-legislator/"},"headline":"Minnesota Elects First Somali-American Female Legislator","datePublished":"2016-11-09T15:41:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:44:47.646Z","description":"“For me, this is my country, this is for my future, for my children’s future and for my grandchildren’s future\"","url":"https://time.com/4564296/ilhan-omar-first-somali-legislator/","keywords":["Minnesota","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2530e944172103d7/6988adc0a988ca29ca6ba178/gettyimages-621811306.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2530e944172103d7/6988adc0a988ca29ca6ba178/gettyimages-621811306.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-VOTE-ELECTION","caption":"US-VOTE-ELECTION","creditText":"STEPHEN MATUREN—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/minnesota/","name":"Minnesota"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4564296/ilhan-omar-first-somali-legislator/","name":"Minnesota Elects First Somali-American Female Legislator"}}]}] ```