Lilian Seenoi-Barr was born on October 1981 and is a Kenyan-Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party politician who has served as Mayor of Derry City and Strabane since 2024.
12 Facts About Lilian Seenoi-Barr
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr is a councillor on Derry City and Strabane District Council, where she has represented the Foyleside Ward since 2021.
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On 29 April 2024, Seenoi-Barr made history after being selected as the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane, becoming Northern Ireland's first black mayor.
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr then went to a school in Narok, where her mother ran a supermarket, and after secondary school attended university, where she studied women's reproductive health and community development.
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr became a prominent campaigner for gender rights among Maasai women, focusing on forced marriage and female genital mutilation, but was forced to leave Kenya along with her son following threats to their safety because of her work with Maasai women.
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr first arrived in Northern Ireland as a refugee in 2010, after being invited to Derry by the Changaro Trust, which had helped to build schools in rural Kenya.
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr helped to organise the Black Lives Matter protests that took place in Derry's Guildhall Square in June 2020.
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr retained her Foyleside seat at the 2023 election, and in doing so became the first black person to be elected to public office in Northern Ireland.
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However, Lilian Seenoi-Barr's appointment attracted criticism from some within her party, who felt the way the decision was made was undemocratic.
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr has a son who was born in Kenya and came to Northern Ireland with her.
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr met her husband after arriving in Northern Ireland.
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Lilian Seenoi-Barr's brother, Ledama Olekina, is a member of the Kenyan Senate representing the Narok area.