First Elected Somali-American Mayor Sworn in In US

First Elected Somali-American Mayor Sworn in In US

The city councilor of St. Louis Park in the US state of Minnesota has sworn in 27-year-old Nadia Mohamed as mayor, two months after she made history as America’s first Somali-American elected mayor by voters.

Ms Mohamed secured 58% of the vote to win last November’s mayoral poll.

She is also the youngest and the first Muslim and black elected mayor in the city, but has said that she wants to be known for more than her identity.

“Well, my identity is one part of my story, right? I am proud of everything that I am, but I don’t want that to be the only story. I don’t want that to [be] where people stop their conversation,” Ms Mohamed told Minneapolis-based KARE TV station after her election.

She has listed public safety and affordable housing as some of the key issues she intends to tackle as mayor.

Ms Mohamed was elected to the city’s council in 2019 at 23.

Her family moved to Minnesota from Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp when she was 10, after fleeing war in Somalia.

In 2021, Deqa Dhalac was appointed the first Somali-American mayor by the councillors of the city of South Portland in the state of Maine.

Ms Mohamed, however, is the first Somali-American mayor to be elected by the public.

BBC/Jide Johnson.