Abdimalik Askar ( so, Cabdimaliik Askar, ar, عبدالملك عسكر) (born 1975/1976) is a Somali- American educator, entrepreneur and politician. He holds an undergraduate degree from

Normandale Community College Normandale Community College is a public community college in Bloomington, Minnesota. The college serves primarily the communities of the southwestern portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Established in 1968 as Normandale St ...

, as well as a BA in Information Technology and a Master's in Project Management from St. Mary's University.

Career

Askar has worked in scholastic administration at the elementary, secondary and collegiate levels, including as an Assistant Principal at Best Academy East. Additionally, he previously served as an outreach coordinator for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU). He also established the Somali TV public access channel in 1998. In 2012, Askar unsuccessfully ran for President of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. In March 2014, he was officially endorsed as the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

's candidate running for the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint ...

in Minneapolis' District 60B. He was also endorsed for the same seat in 2016. Askar's chief rival in the general election was the Democratic nominee Ilhan Omar, another activist in the Somali-American community. Askar subsequently announced his withdrawal from the campaign, as he was grieving the death of his father and attempting to complete a doctorate at

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, (SMUMN) is a private Catholic university with an undergraduate residential college in Winona, Minnesota; graduate and professional programs in Winona, the Twin Cities, and Rochester; and various course del ...

.Liz Sawyer
GOP state House candidate to suspend campaign against Ilhan Omar
27 Aug. 20167, ''

Minneapolis Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

''. Accessed 28 August 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Askar, Abdimalik 1970s births Living people Ethnic Somali people Somalian emigrants to the United States Politicians from Minneapolis Minnesota Republicans Saint Mary's University of Minnesota alumni Year of birth missing (living people)