Ilhan Omar Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Ilhan Omar is considered a rising progressive star in the Democratic party. Her support for a minimal hourly wage of $15 and proposal to allow free tuition for college students from families with an annual income of below $125,000 has made her quite popular with the left base. Her vocal and fierce criticism of the Israeli government has also helped her cement her standing as a Muslim social activist. However, her rise in politics hasn’t been without a controversy. She has been accused of using marriage as a way to exploit immigration laws. However, she has called such accusations a simple smear tactic. On the other hand, her critics have pointed to the lack of explanation as proof of her guilt.

Born Name

Ilhan Omar

Nick Name

Ilhan

Sun Sign

Libra

Born Place

Mogadishu, Somalia

Residence

She lives with her family in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Nationality

Education

Ilhan Omar went to Edison High School. After graduating from high school, she got enrolled at North Dakota State University graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and International Studies.

Occupation

Politician

Family

• Father – Nur Omar Mohamed (Teacher Trainer)
• Mother – Her mother passed away during her childhood.
• Siblings – She has 6 older siblings.

Manager

Not Applicable

Build

Slim

Height

5 ft 6 in or 167.5 cm

Weight

52 kg or 114.5 lbs

Boyfriend / Spouse

Ilhan Omar has dated –

1. Ahmed Hirsi (2002-2008 and 2011-Present) – In 2002, Omar started going out with Ahmed Hirsi. She was 19 years old at that time. In the same year, they got engaged and decided to apply for the marriage license. However, the application wasn’t finalized. In 2008, they decided to end their relationship. By the time of their separation, she had given birth to 3 children. Later, they managed to work out their differences by 2011 and decided to get back together. Soon after, they got married in a traditional ceremony.
2. Ahmed Nur Said Elmi (2009-2011) – In 2009, Ilhan got married to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British citizen. They got a faith-based divorce in 2011 and got an official divorce in 2017. It has been speculated that he was her brother or somehow related to her.

Race / Ethnicity

Multiracial

She has Somalian (Majeerteen) ancestry. On her mother’s side, she is of Benadiri descent.

Hair Color

Black

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

She often wears a traditional Somalian turban.

Religion

Sunni Islam

She is a devout Muslim.

Best Known For

Being the first Somalian-American to have won a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She won the election in 2016 as a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.

First TV Show

In 2017, Ilhan Omar made her first TV show appearance as herself on the comedy talk show, The Daily Show.

Ilhan Omar Facts

1. As her mother passed away during her early childhood, she was raised by her father and grandfather, the director of Somalia’s National Marine Transport.
2. Her family had to flee from Somalia after the outbreak of the civil war in 1991. They were bound to live in a refugee camp in Kenya for 4 years before they moved to the United States and settled down in Arlington, Virginia.
3. After emigration to the United States, she managed to learn English within a space of just 3 months.
4. In her teens, she regularly used to go with her grandfather to caucus meetings and used to serve as her grandfather’s interpreter.
5. In 2006, she started her professional career by working as a community nutrition educator at the University of Minnesota. She worked in that position until 2009.
6. In 2012, she was appointed as campaign manager for Kari Dziedzic re-election campaign for the Minnesota State Senate.
7. She was hired by Andrew Johnson’s campaign to serve as a manager for his Minneapolis City Council in 2013. After Johnson won the election, she was appointed by Johnson as his Senior Policy Aide. She worked in that role until 2015.
8. In February 2014, she was attacked by 5 people during a contentious precinct caucus. She suffered some injuries due to the incident.
9. In September 2015, she was appointed as the Director of Policy & Initiatives of the Women Organizing Women Network. The association works to support women from East Africa in taking leadership roles.
10. In November 2016, she won the general election to became a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. Her campaign was boosted by the withdrawal of Republican nominee Abdimalik Askar who was also an activist of Somalian ancestry. He had decided to withdraw his nomination because of his father’s death and his graduate studies.
11. In 2016, she was accused by some news outlet of having married her brother or a relative so as to exploit the U.S. immigration laws and to get him a U.S. visa. She called such allegations small-minded bigotry.
12. She has been a staunch and vocal critic of the Israeli government and has even called it ‘the apartheid Israeli regime’. This had led to her critics calling her an anti-semite.
13. In June 2018, she filed her candidacy to become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota’s 5th congressional district.
14. Visit her official website @ ilhanomar.com.
15. Follow Ilhan Omar on Twitter and Facebook.

Featured Image by Leopaltik1242 / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0