Biography
H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi – Ndaitwah was born on 29 October 1952, in a village in the north of Namibia called Onamutai, H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is married to the former Chief of Defence Force of Namibia, Lieutenant-General (Rtd) Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah with whom she shares three sons.
Academic qualifications obtained
- School and Practices of the Young Communist Movement at the Lenin High Komsomol School, Moscow, USSR;
- (1986 - 1989) - Certificate in General English with study skills and English for commerce from the Edinburgh Language Foundation in the United Kingdom (UK);
- Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration and Management from the Glasgow College of Technology;
- Diploma in International Relations from the University of Keele;
- Master’s Degree of Arts in Diplomatic Studies.
Political career
H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi – Ndaitwah political career started in 1966 when she joined SWAPO at the tender age of 14. Between 197 – 1974, she served as the Chairperson of the Southwest Africa People’s Organization – SWAPO Youth League in Northern Namibia. Due to her political activities in 1973, she was arrested and sentenced to three years suspension. In 1974, she left the country to join SWAPO in exile to fight for Namibia’s independence. While in exile, H.E. Dr. Nandi–Ndaitwah served as a member of the SWAPO Central Committee from 1976 – 1987.
As well as:
The Deputy Chief Representative of SWAPO for Central Africa from 1976 – 1978 based in Lusaka, Zambia.
The Chief Representative for Central Africa from 1978 – 1980.
The Chief Representative of SWAPO in East Africa and the OAU Liberation
Committee between 1980 – 1986 based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. During this time, the Frontline States and Nigeria were very active in the support for the liberation struggle in Southern Africa. H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was able to attend most of the meetings of the Frontline States, as she was accorded a permanent seat on the plane of His Excellency Julius Mwalimu Nyerere, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, who nicknamed her Mama wa SWAPO.
She was part of the SWAPO negotiation team on the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 435, thus enabled her to be part of the SWAPO delegation to the pre-implementation conference in Geneva, 1982.
While in exile H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah attended and addressed several
international meetings to advance the course for the liberation struggle for Namibia. She first addressed the United Nations Committee on Decolonization in 1974, when she was part of the SWAPO delegation to the UN General Assembly. While serving as SWAPO Chief Representative in East Africa, she had an opportunity to regularly address the first-year students at the Political Department of the University of Dar-Es-Salaam.
She returned to Namibia in 1989 and following Independence in 1990, she was
appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. She was elected to the Central
Committee of SWAPO at its first Congress after independence in 1991. From 1996-2000 she was appointed Director-General of the Department of Women Affairs, with a Ministerial Rank, in the Office of the President. Also serving as SWAPO Deputy Secretary-General in 2000.
In 1995, H.E. Dr. Nandi-Ndaitwah was the Rapporteur General of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. During the preparation for the Fourth World Conference on Women, she served as the Chief Negotiator for the African Group. She was also Chairperson of the National Preparatory Committee for the Fourth World Conference on Women and led the Namibian delegation to the Conference.
In 2000, H.E. Dr. Nandi-Ndaitwah was Deputy Head of the Namibian delegation to the Twenty-Third Special Session of the UN General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century.” The delegation was led by His Excellency Dr. Hage G. Geingob, the late President of the Republic of Namibia who was then Prime Minister.
H.E. Dr. Nandi-Ndaitwah served as a Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare from 2000 - 2005. She played a pivotal role in advocating for the protection of the rights of women and children. As President of the Namibian National Women’s Organization (NANAWO), she worked with the Law Reform Commission of Namibia, to promote the adoption of national legislations on Married Persons Equality and Domestic Violence. She initiated the discussion in the UN Security Council on women and peace that led to the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 that was unanimously adopted on 31 October 2000. This Resolution gave birth to the women peace agenda which is one of the key topics in the United Nations Security Council.
In 2010, while she was the Minister of Environment and Tourism, H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was the African Chief Negotiator on the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources (Nagoya, Japan). Which is calling for fair and equitable benefits sharing and the utilization of genetic resources based on the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Ministerial Positions held:
• Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare (2000 – 2005)
• Minister of Information and Broadcasting. (2005-2010)
• Minister of Environment and Tourism. (2010-2012)
• Minister of Foreign Affairs. (2012-2015)
• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (2015-4 February 2024)
During the 6th SWAPO Party Congress that took place from the 23-26 November 2017, H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi – Ndaitwah was elected Vice – President of the SWAPO Party. A huge achievement considering the journey of the young lady who had joined the Party 51 years prior to that. And once again re-elected into the same position at the recently concluded 7th SWAPO Party Congress, held in Windhoek November 2022 and SWAPO Party Presidential Candidate for 2024 National and Presidential Elections.
On 04 February 2024, H.E. Dr. Nangolo Mbumba, fourth President of the Republic of Namibia appointed H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as the Vice President of the Republic of Namibia.
Outside Politics
• Captain of the School Netball Team
• Chairman of the Christian Youth Movement
• Leader of the Home Rangers/Girl Guides
• Patron of the Girl Guides Association of Namibia
• Patron of the Namibia Breastfeeding Association
• Patron of Road Safety
• President of the Emeritus Namibian Planned Parenthood Association
• President of the Prosperity Hotel School
Honorary Recognitions
• Honorary Doctorate conferred by the University of Dar – es – Salaam;
• Order of the Eagle, conferred by the Republic of Namibia 26 August 2010;
• The Order of Franisco de Miranda Primera Classe, conferred by the government of Venezuela in 2021.
