Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, born on October 4, 1982, is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, representing part of Minneapolis. Her congressional district includes all of Minneapolis and some of its first-ring suburbs.
Profile Summary
| Full Name: | Ilhan Abdullahi Omar |
| Date of Birth: | October 4, 1982 |
| Place of Birth: | Mogadishu, Somalia |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Politician |
| Net Worth: | $70 millions |
| Husband: | Tim Mynett |
Early Life and Education
Omar was born on October 4, 1982, in Mogadishu, Somalia, and spent her early years in Baidoa, Somalia. She was the youngest of seven siblings, including sister Sahra Noor. Her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, an ethnic Somali from the Majeerteen clan of Northeastern Somalia, was a colonel in the Somali army under Siad Barre and also worked as a teacher trainer.
Her mother, Fadhuma Abukar Haji Hussein, a Benadiri, died when Ilhan was two. She was raised by her father and grandfather, who were moderate Sunni Muslims opposed to the rigid Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.
Her grandfather Abukar was the director of Somalia’s National Marine Transport, and some of Omar’s uncles and aunts also worked as civil servants and educators. She and her family fled Somalia to escape the Somali Civil War and spent four years in a Dadaab refugee camp in Garissa County, Kenya, near the Somali border.
Omar’s family secured asylum in the U.S. and arrived in New York in 1995, then lived for a time in Arlington, Virginia, before moving to and settling in Minneapolis, where her father worked first as a taxi driver and later for the post office.
Her father and grandfather emphasised the importance of democracy during her upbringing, and at age 14 she accompanied her grandfather to caucus meetings, serving as his interpreter.
She has spoken about school bullying she endured during her time in Virginia, stimulated by her distinctive Somali appearance and wearing of the hijab. She recalls gum being pressed into her hijab, being pushed down stairs, and physical taunts while she was changing for gym class.
Omar remembers her father’s reaction to these incidents: “They are doing something to you because they feel threatened in some way by your existence.” Omar became a U.S. citizen in 2000 when she was 17 years old.
Omar attended Thomas Edison High School, from which she graduated in 2001, and volunteered as a student organizer. She graduated from North Dakota State University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree, majoring in political science and international studies. Omar was a Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Career
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar has served as the U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, representing part of Minneapolis. Her congressional district includes all of Minneapolis and some of its first-ring suburbs.
Omar serves as deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has advocated for a $15 minimum wage, universal healthcare, student loan debt forgiveness, the protection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A frequent critic of Israel, Omar supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has denounced Israel’s settlement policies and military campaigns in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as what she describes as the influence of pro-Israel lobbies in American politics.
In February 2023, the Republican-controlled House voted to remove Omar from her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, citing past comments she had made about Israel and concerns over her objectivity.
Omar is the first Somali American in the United States Congress and the first woman of colour to represent Minnesota. She is also one of the first two Muslim women (along with Rashida Tlaib) to serve in Congress.
She has been the target of several death threats, as well as derogatory comments by political opponents, including Donald Trump, as a result of her background.
Ilhan Omar Net worth
Ilhan Omar has an estimated net worth of $70 millions. Ilhan Omar is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Personal Life
In 2002, Omar became engaged to Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi (né Aden). She has said they had an unofficial, faith-based Islamic marriage. The couple had two children together, including Isra Hirsi, one of the three principal organisers of the school strike for climate in the US. Omar has said that she and Hirsi divorced within their faith tradition in 2008.
In 2009, Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British Somali. According to Omar, in 2011 she and Elmi had a faith-based divorce and she reconciled with Hirsi, with whom she had a third child in 2012.
In 2017, Elmi and Omar legally divorced, and Omar and Hirsi legally married in 2018. On October 7, 2019, Omar filed for divorce from Hirsi, citing an “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage. The divorce was finalised on November 5, 2019.
In March 2020, Omar married Tim Mynett, a political consultant whose political consulting firm, the E Street Group, received $2.78 million in contracts from Omar’s campaign during the 2020 cycle. The campaign’s contract with Mynett’s firm became a focus of criticism by her Democratic primary opponent and conservative critics that received significant local and national media attention.
On November 17, 2020, Omar’s campaign terminated its contract with Mynett’s firm, saying the termination was to “make sure that anybody who is supporting our campaign with their time or financial support feels there is no perceived issue with that support.” In 2020, HarperCollins published Omar’s memoir, This Is What America Looks Like, written with Rebecca Paley.
