This archive report was first published on 16 June 2020.
U.S Representative Ilhan Omar's father, Nur Omar Mohamed, has died from COVID-19 complications in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was 67 years old.
Ilhan Omar announced her father's passing on social media, saying, 'It is with tremendous sadness and pain that I share that my father, Nur Omar Mohamed, passed away today due to complications from COVID-19. No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew him.'
Ilhan Omar's family has asked for respect and privacy during this difficult time.
COVID-19 has claimed over 116,000 lives in the United States, with over 2.1 million cases reported.
Ilhan Omar's father had been in a coma for eight days at Hennepin Medical Center before his passing. Her elder sister, Sahra, flew in from Kenya to be by his side.
Nur Omar Mohamed migrated to the United States in 1995, settling in Alexandria, Virginia, before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota. The family had previously spent four years in Dadaab camp in Kenya as refugees after escaping war in Somalia.
Ilhan Omar recently published a book, 'This Is What America Looks Like,' which captures her experience growing up as a Muslim woman in the United States.
Ilhan Omar was elected to office in 2019, becoming the first Somali-American U.S Representative, the first naturalized citizen from Africa, and the first woman of color to hold elective office from Minnesota.
