Ilhan Omar is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), the Minnesota branch of the Democratic Party, Omar is the first Somali American, the first naturalized citizen from Africa, and one of the first two Muslim women (along with Rashida Tlaib of Michigan) to serve in the United States Congress. Omar is known for her progressive stance on various issues, including healthcare reform, immigration policy, and racial justice. Prior to her tenure in Congress, she served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019. Omar's journey from refugee to congresswoman—having fled Somalia as a child before spending years in a Kenyan refugee camp and eventually settling in the United States—has been a significant aspect of her personal narrative and political identity.