Ilhan Omar Takes a Trip Home to Somalia

Image Credit: Radio Dalsan

Minneapolis, MN — MN Legislator taking on policy role in birth country less than a month before taking office in St. Paul

Representative-elect Ilhan Omar is spending time in Mogadishu, Somalia with her father and cultural husband Ahmed Hirsi before she is officially sworn in as State Representative for House District 60B.

Omar originally traveled to her birthplace for the elections occurring in Somalia. However, according to German news outlet Deutsche Welle, the election has once again been delayed until January 2017.  

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh invited Omar to meet with him before the elections took place. Accompanied by her husband, Omar spoke about the advances in women’s rights seen in Somalia.

Mogadishu radio station Radio Dalsan, which first broke the story of Omar’s trip, identified her husband as Ahmed Elmi, not Ahmed Hirsi. Alpha News has closely followed developments related to Omar’s marriage history. She is currently legally married to a man named Ahmed Nur Said Elmi who currently resides in the United Kingdom.

As reported in August, evidence gathered by Alpha News suggests Elmi may have sibling connections to Omar. Omar, who is currently in a relationship with her partner Ahmed Hirsi is seen in the photos taken by Radio Dalsan.

Omar was recently named an assistant minority leader by House Democrats. Omar will be sworn in as the first Somali-American legislator in United States history on January 3.  

Preya Samsundar

Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.