Ilhan Omar has made history by becoming the first Somali-American to be sworn in as a lawmaker in the United States of America.
Analysts say Omar’s swearing is more significant given the fact that she is a woman
Omar, a Somali-born former refugee, was elected to serve in Minnesota’s state house of representatives in tightly contested elections last year.
Her election came just days after US President-elect Donald Trump accused Somali immigrants in Minnesota of spreading extremist Islamic views.
A video posted online showed Omar taking her oath of office on the Koran before making a speech at a ceremony in the capital of the US state of Minnesota.
The former refugee “pledged to be the best she can be” as she serves.
She said: “We are privileged to be people that can live in unity and diversity, and we are privileged to have one another.
“So as much as I pledge to you to be the best that I can be, I hope you will pledge to me to be the best you can be as well.”
Omar was born in 1982 in Somalia the youngest of seven siblings, and grew up in an upper middle class household.
After the start of the Somali civil war in 1991, she and her family left the country and spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya.
In 1995, Omar and her family emigrated to the United States where they initially settled in Arlington, Virginia before later moving to Minneapolis.
Omar attended Edison High School, and later, the North Dakota State University, where she participated in the Muslim Student Association.
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies.
As of September 2015, Omar is the Director of Policy and Initiatives of the Women Organizing Women Network, an association that advocates for women from East Africa to take on civic and political leadership roles.
She supports a $15 per hour minimum wage as well as advocates for free tuition for students with a family income below $125,000.
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