Five things to know about Namibia’s first woman president

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will become one of Africa’s few women leaders when she is inaugurated as president of Namibia on Friday.

Here are five things to know about the next leader of this stable and mineral-rich country of around three million people in the south of the continent.

– Ruling party stalwart –
NNN, as she is popularly known, is a long-time loyalist of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) that has governed Namibia since its independence from South Africa in 1990.

SWAPO’s dominance meant that there was little surprise that she won the November 2024 polls, where she took 58 percent of votes as the party’s candidate for president.

Nandi-Ndaitwah became a member of the party in her early teens, when it was leading the struggle for independence, and has held several senior posts.

– Long government career –
Nandi-Ndaitwah entered the national assembly in 1990 and was first appointed as cabinet minister in 2000 to head the women’s and children ministry.

She has also served as minister of information, of environment and tourism, and of foreign affairs.

In February 2024 she was appointed vice president, the first woman to hold that post in the country.

– 72 years old –
Born in October 1952, Nandi-Ndaitwah will be sworn in at the age of 72 for a five-year term.

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She will lead a largely young country with more than 70 percent of the population aged under 34, according to the 2023 census.

NNN takes over from 83-year-old Nangolo Mbumba, who came to power in February 2024 following the death of his predecessor, Hage Geingob at the age of 82.

– Conservative views –
The daughter of an Anglican pastor, Nandi-Ndaitwah has conservative views on issues like abortion, which is illegal in most cases in the largely Christian country.

Her party voted against gay marriage in 2023.

– Exile in Russia –
After going into exile in the 1970s, first to Zambia, NNN spent some time in Russia where she joined the Komsomol, a Soviet Union-era communist youth organisation.

She has expressed support for North Korea, which has built a number of buildings in the capital.

AFP