Nadia Mohamed, a Somali refugee raised in the Kakuma refugee camp, was in January 2025 elected and sworn in as mayor of St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
As such, she made history as the first Somali-American mayor elected in the United States.
Nadia was born in Somalia and migrated to Kenya as a refugee during the civil war, and stayed in the Kakuma refugee camp until she was 10 when she moved to the United States.
In a closely contested election held in November 2023, she was proclaimed the winner, getting 58.4% of the votes (4,595 total), defeating the other competitor, who received 41.2% (3,239 total).
While continuing to make history, the City Council remarked that the voter turnout was the largest in a St. Louis Park municipal election since at least 1987.
Speaking after the win, Nadia hailed the city in a joyful post, “I have no words tonight other than thank you! Thank you, St. Louis Park, for investing your trust and faith in me.”
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Despite the historic victory, Nadia acknowledged that the election and campaign were not without hurdles, particularly as a minority subjected to hatred from some quarters.
“My heart goes out to all the people who are visible in their identities, who are being impacted by this type of violence and this type of disrespect,” she said.
Moving forward, Nadia wants to have her art recognized and honored for her experience, which is much more than her identification as a black indigenous person of colour.
Notably, this is not Nadia’s first time making history in Minnesota; she previously served on the City Council of St Louis Park, when she was elected at the age of 23, becoming the youngest person, the first Muslim and the first Somali-American to do so.
After being sworn in, Nadia became the city’s first Black Mayor after 170 years in the largely White neighbourhood.
