Nadia Mohamed has been elected mayor of St. Louis Park, in Minnesota, the United States, making her the city’s first Black mayor in 170 years.

Mohamed’s emergence also made her the first Somali American mayor in Minnesota, and the second known Somali mayor in US history.

According to Africa News, the 27-year-old received 58% of the vote against her rival contender, a retired banker, Dale A: Anderson.

Reacting to her victory, Mohamed said, “As mayor, I want to make sure people see themselves reflected in our policies.”

Former mayor, Jake Spano said, “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that to do the job of mayor, you have to love people, love solving problems and believe in the people in your community to do good things. Councilmember Mohamed and I agree on this.” 

Her family emigrated to Kenya after the Somali Civil War and she lived in the Kakuma refugee camp until she was 10 years old.

Mohamed relocated to the US with her family as refugees at the age of 10. She subsequently lived in St. Louis Park. 

She has a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources from Metropolitan State University. Her community work in St. Louis Park resulted in her receiving the city’s Human Rights Award in 2018.

In 2019, at age 23, she was elected to the city council, becoming its youngest-ever and first Muslim member.

The Star Tribune described her 2023 mayoral campaign as focused on “Investment in community policing and programs to make homeownership more affordable.” 

Before the election on November 7, 2023, the outgoing mayor, Spano endorsed Mohamed and she defeated Anderson in the municipal election.

In a city’s population of 80% white, Mohamed focused her campaign on increasing homeownership and community policing.