Tuesday September 9, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — On election night in Fredrikstad, 20-year-old Hashim Abdi broke down in tears as the results flashed on television screens. He clutched his phone to call his mother, the only parent he has left, telling her she was the first person who came to mind when it became clear he had won a seat in Norway’s parliament.
My parents came to Norway with nothing but hope. Mom is the only parent I have left, and she deserves everything in the world.”
Abdi’s tears captured the weight of his journey. The son of Somali refugees, raised in a working-class neighbourhood, is now among the youngest lawmakers in the Storting, Norway’s national legislature. His campaign rested on issues that reflected his own experiences: better schools, opportunities for young people, and tackling poverty in Østfold, a county where inequality has become increasingly stark.
“It’s completely insane. It’s the story of Norway, that a boy from Trara can go from a small neighbourhood to the corridors of power.”
He joins Marian Abdi Hussein, a Socialist Left Party politician re-elected from Oslo. First entering parliament in 2021, she was the first lawmaker of African descent to take a permanent seat in the Storting. Hussein, who worked for years in Oslo’s social services, has become a national figure for her advocacy on women’s rights and health policy. In 2023, she was elected deputy leader of her party.
Together, Hussein and Abdi now symbolize both continuity and change for Somali Norwegians. Hussein broke barriers three years ago; Abdi is part of a younger generation determined to make its presence felt in politics.
Their victories reflect shifts in Norwegian society. Labour finished first in Østfold with roughly 30 percent of the vote, anchoring Abdi’s win even as the Progress Party posted strong gains locally. Nationally, Labour’s result keeps Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in office, and he is expected to rely on a broader left-leaning bloc to govern. Energy policy, living costs and foreign affairs were central campaign issues and now shape the new government’s agenda.
But it is the human stories behind the statistics that resonate in Norway’s Somali community. Abdi’s father, Mohodin, once drove a taxi and sat on the Fredrikstad city council before he passed away. He instilled in his son a belief in civic duty and justice. Abdi joined the Labour youth wing at 14 and climbed steadily through local politics.
