Ahmed Hirsi
Ahmed Hirsi is the proud husband of Somali American politician, Ilhan Omar –currently the representative for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District.
Ahmed’s wife became the first Somali-American, Muslim legislator in the United States in 2016.
She was born Ilhan Abdullahi Omar on October 4, 1981. She lived in a refugee camp in Kenya after she and her family left their country due to the civil war. She and her family arrived in the US in 1997.
Once settled in Minneapolis, she attended Edison High School –where she became an organizer and coalition builder. She graduated from North Dakota State University –with bachelor’s degrees in political science and international studies.
Following her graduation she worked as a community educator at the University of Minnesota. Through advocacy work with which she’s been involved, she’s advanced important issues, including support for working families, educational access, environmental protection, and racial equity.
Before running for office, Ilhan was a Humphrey Policy Fellow and served as a senior Policy Aide for a Minneapolis City Council Member. She and husband Ahmed Hirsi have been married since 2018.
Ahmed Hirsi and Omar had an unconventional story, the two became engaged in 2002 but never actually walked the isle at that time. Instead, they welcomed two children and separated around 2008.
During that time, Ilhan Omar tied the knot to another Ahmed. She and British Ahmed Nur Said Elmi divorced in 2011 –the same year she and Ahmed Hirsi reconciled.
Omar and Hirsi welcomed their third child in 2012 and she and British Ahmed were legally divorced in 2017. Finally in 2018, she and Ahmed Hirsi were able to get married.
Hirsi describes himself as a ‘father, husband and activist’
Last year, Ahmed Hirsi was hired as a Senior Policy Aide by Minneapolis City Council Member Alondra Cano.
Between April and Aug. 6, Hirsi worked for St. Paul College helping students with financial aid and registration issues. Previously, he worked as a banker for Wells Fargo for 11 years. Since May 2016, Hirsi has been running his own business, New American Financial Literacy, which advises immigrant communities about homebuying, banking, entrepreneurship and taxes.
Check him out on Instagram here.
