Minnesota, SONNA – Nadiya Abdirizaq Mohamed, a Somali-American woman, made history by becoming the first elected mayor of Saint Louis Park, a city in the state of Minnesota. She defeated her opponent, Dale Anderson, a professor at the University of Minnesota, with more than 58% of the votes.
Nadiya Abdirizaq is also the first Muslim, Somali, and Black person to hold the mayoral position in the city, which has a population of about 49,000 people. She said that she was inspired by her parents, who immigrated to the United States from Somalia in the 1990s and worked hard to provide for their family.
As the mayor, Nadiya Abdirizaq said that she will focus on addressing the issues of affordable housing, youth empowerment, and racial equity in the city. She also said that she hopes to be a role model for other young people, especially girls and women, from marginalized communities.
Nadiya Abdirizaq is not the first Somali woman to become a mayor in the United States, but she is the first one to be elected by the people. In 2012, Deeqa Dhalac was appointed as the mayor of South Portland, a city in the state of Maine, by the local council. However, Nadiya Abdirizaq’s victory is an exceptional achievement that reflects the growing diversity and representation of Somali-Americans in the political sphere.
