Saara Kuugongelwa

Saara Kuugongelwa
4th Prime Minister of Namibia
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 March 2015
President	Hage Geingob
Preceded by	Hage Geingob
Personal details
Born	12 October 1967 Ovamboland, Southwest Africa (now Okahao, Namibia)
Political party	SWAPO
Alma mater	Lincoln University, Pennsylvania

Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila (born 12 October 1967) is the fourth and current Prime Minister of Namibia, in office since 21 March 2015. Kuugongelwa is a member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). She has been a member of the National Assembly of Namibia since 1995 and served as Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2015.^[1][2]

Exile

Born in Okahao, Omusati, Kuugongelwa went into exile with SWAPO in 1980 and left for Sierra Leone in 1982 at the age of 15. She attended Koidu Girls Secondary School from 1982 to 1984 and Saint Joseph's Secondary School from 1984 to 1987. From 1991 to 1994, Kuugongelwa attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, United States, where she graduated with a degree in economics.

Political career

Kuugongelwa returned to Namibia following graduation from Lincoln and took a position as a desk officer in the Office of the President under Sam Nujoma. At the age of 27 in 1995, Kuugongelwa was named Director General of the National Planning Commission. She was appointed as Minister of Finance in 2003.

On Heroes' Day 2014 she was conferred the Most Brilliant Order of the Sun, Second Class.^[3]

Alongside President Hage Geingob, Kuugongelwa was sworn in as Prime Minister of Namibia on 21 March 2015.^[4]

References

1. NID.org Archived June 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
2. "Profile: Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila". New Era. 12 March 2015.
3. "Namibians honoured by President". New Era. 28 August 2014.
4. Shinovene Immanuel and Theresia Tjihenuna, "Emotional transition", The Namibian, 23 March 2015.