Esther Muinjangue | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services | |
Assumed office March 2020 | |
Preceded by | Juliet Kavetuna |
President of National Unity Democratic Organisation | |
Assumed office March 2019 | |
Preceded by | Asser Mbai |
Personal details | |
Born | Windhoek,Namibia | 17 August 1962
Political party | NUDO |
Alma mater | Academy of Tertiary Education (now University of Namibia) (BA Sci) University of Pretoria (Masters in Social Work) University of Stellenbosch (PhD) |
Esther Utjiua Muinjangue (born 17 August 1962) is a Namibian politician and the president of the National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO),a party that occupies two seats in the National Assembly of Namibia and one seat in the National Council of Namibia. In addition,she is the first woman to lead a political party in Namibia,and the country's first female presidential candidate. [1] She was appointed as the country's deputy minister of health and social services in March 2020 by Namibian President Hage Geingob. She has for a long time been advocating for social workers’role in many aspects of people’s lives and at different levels. [2]
Muinjangue is a social worker by profession and obtained her BA qualification from the Academy of Tertiary Education (now the University of Namibia). [3]
She further obtained her Masters in Social Work at the University of Pretoria.
In December 2019,Esther Muinjangue obtained her PhD from Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Esther was congratulated by her party people (NUDO) for obtaining her PhD. [4]
Muinjangue joined the public sector in 1987 as a social worker,and in 1996,she became a social work lecturer at the University of Namibia.
The National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) elected Muinjangue as its President –making her the first woman leader of a political party in Namibia.
In the 2019 Namibian general election,Muinjangue ran as a presidential candidate,but only won 1.5% of the popular vote. However,NUDO won two seats in Parliament,so,as the leader of her party,she will sit in the National Assembly. [5]
Politics of Namibia takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic,whereby the President of Namibia is both head of state and head of government,and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by both the president and the government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The South West Africa People's Organisation,officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia,is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia. Founded in 1960,it has been the governing party in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by the Ovambo ethnic group.
Elections in Namibia determine who holds public political offices in the country. Namibia is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic. It runs direct elections every five years for the position of the president and seats in the National Assembly,and every six years for the Regional Councils and the distribution of seats in local authorities. The National Council is elected indirectly by the constituency councillors of Namibia's 14 regions.
The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia,registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front,it formed the official opposition in Parliament until the parliamentary elections in 2009. The party currently holds 16 seats in the Namibian National Assembly and one seat in the Namibian National Council and is the official opposition. McHenry Venaani is president of the PDM.
The National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) is a political party in Namibia. It has been represented in the National Assembly of Namibia and in the National Council of Namibia since it split from the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance prior to the 2004 general and local elections. The party's president is Esther Muinjangue.
The Republican Party is a political party in Namibia. Henk Mudge was its President and its sole representative in the National Assembly. Prior to the 2004 parliamentary election,the Republican Party was part of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA). It was revived as an independent party in 2003,and won 1.9% of popular votes and one National Assembly seat.
The National Council is the upper chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. It reviews bills passed by the lower chamber and makes recommendations for legislation of regional concern to the lower chamber.
Pendukeni "Penny" Iivula-Ithana is a Namibian politician who served as the secretary general of SWAPO,Namibia's ruling party,from 2007 to 2012. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia in 1989 and has been a member of Parliament and member of cabinet since independence in 1990.
McHenry Venaani is a Namibian politician and the president of the Popular Democratic Movement,a party with sixteen seats in the National Assembly of Namibia and one seat in the National Council of Namibia. Venaani has been a member of the National Assembly from 2002 to 2010,in 2014,and since 2015. At the time of his appointment in 2002,he was Namibia's youngest MP. He is one of the three candidates standing for election as Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority in January 2023,competing against Hoze Riruako and Mike Kavekotora.
Bernhardt Martin Esau is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO),Esau has been a member of the National Assembly since being nominated by President Sam Nujoma and subsequently elected in the 1994 Namibian general election.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is a Namibian politician who is Namibia's third and current ⠀⠀vice president since February 2024. She previously served as the deputy prime minister of Namibia from 2015 to 2024. The current SWAPO vice president,she has retained her position and is set to become the party's first female presidential candidate in November 2024. She has also served as Namibia's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation since December 2012. From March 2010 to December 2012,she was Minister of Environment and Tourism. Nandi-Ndaitwah is a member of SWAPO,Namibia's ruling party,and a long-time member of the National Assembly. In 2017,Nandi-Ndaitwah was elected vice-president of the Swapo Party at the party's 6th Congress. She is the first woman to serve in that position.
The Workers Revolutionary Party is a communist party in Namibia led by Attie Beukes and Harry Boesak.
The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include the following positions:the President of Namibia,the Prime Minister of Namibia and any positions that the President so appoints.
General elections were held in Namibia on 28 November 2014,although early voting took place in foreign polling stations and for seagoing personnel on 14 November. The elections were the first on the African continent to use electronic voting.
Bernadus Clinton Swartbooi is a Namibian politician.
General elections were held in Namibia on 27 November 2019. Ballots were cast using electronic voting. A total of eleven candidates ran for the presidency and fifteen political parties contested the National Assembly elections.
Panduleni Filemon Bango Itula is a Namibian politician,dentist,lawyer,and former Chief Dentist at the Katutura State Hospital,as well as a former SWAPO party school lecturer. He was an independent presidential candidate for the Presidency of Namibia in the 2019 Namibian general election and finished second (29%) after Hage Geingob. He is a founder and president of the Independent Patriots for Change in Namibia.