Naren Briar, an American Kurd whose family hails from Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan, was elected a member of the Bellevue City Council in Washington, United States, on Wednesday, according to preliminary results.

Briar was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from Boston College.

She has worked at Meta on privacy and policy issues and completed the Bellevue Essentials civic engagement program. Briar is also an active volunteer, mentoring students and organizing programs for seniors.

“My own parents fled the genocide of the Kurdish people under Saddam Hussein. When I arrived in Bellevue, I knew for sure this would be my home for the rest of my life. And my previous experiences form a nexus in this city that has provided me with immense opportunity and inspiration,” she previously wrote on Instagram for her campaign on January 19.

Furthermore, she has done humanitarian work in Western Kurdistan (northern Syria) and Iraq to build solutions to ensure electricity and education in refugee camps.

“On this day 37 years ago, my father and his family narrowly escaped the chemical mustard gas attacks that Saddam Hussein’s regime unleashed on Kurdish civilians in Halabja in 1988,” she wrote on her LinkedIn page on March 16, the anniversary of the Halabja massacre that took place on March 16, 1988, when thousands of Kurds were killed in a large-scale chemical attack carried out by the Iraqi regime.

“Following the devastation of his city, my father and my mother bravely fled to the United States as refugees — with only a few cents in their pockets. They started from scratch, instilling in me the values of justice, education, and hard work.

“These experiences have shaped my profound commitment to building strong, welcoming communities and ensuring effective local government. It is this commitment that has inspired me to run for office in Bellevue, Washington.”

According to the initial results, Briar had a lead over competitor Conrad Lee.