Albert Kawana (born 26 March 1956) is a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n politician. A member of SWAPO, Kawana has been a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

and cabinet since 2000, serving in various positions. Since April 2021 he is minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security. A lawyer by training, Kawana led Namibia's legal team in the

Kasikili Sedudu Island (known as Kasikili Island in Namibia) is a fluvial island in the Chobe River, in Botswana adjacent to the border with Namibia. The island was the subject of a territorial dispute between these countries, resolved by a 1999 ruling o ...

Island dispute, which was argued before the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

Early life and education

Kawana was born on 26 March 1956 at

Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It is located in the Caprivi Strip. It had 28,362 inhabitants in 2010, and comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban. I ...

in the

Zambezi Region The Zambezi Region is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. It is located in the north-eastern part of the country. It is largely concurrent with the major Zambezi River where it gets its name from. The region has eight constituencies and its capi ...

. He entered Namibian politics while in exile in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

. In 1979 he graduated from the United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) with a diploma in Development Studies and Management. He moved onto the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he received his L.L.M. in 1983 and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1988. Following graduation, Kawana moved back to Zambia, where he became a lecturer in the final years of UNIN from 1988 to 1990.

Career

Following Namibia's independence in March 1990, Kawana moved back to Namibia to become the first permanent secretary in the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, where he worked until 2000. Chosen by SWAPO to the third

in 2000, he immediately was promoted to the position of deputy Minister of Justice. Following the 2004 general election, Kawana was promoted to head the justice ministry, becoming the first permanent secretary to advance to the top post of minister since independence. Kawana led Namibia's legal team in the

Island dispute, which was argued before the

. The court eventually sided with

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

.Albert Kawana
Namibia Institute for Democracy, 2007 In 2005 he became minister for presidential affairs, serving until 2015. Kawana was also included in president

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 201 ...

's cabinet, appointed in March 2015, as minister of justice. During a cabinet reshuffle in February 2018 he swapped positions with Sacky Shanghala and became attorney general, also in the rank of a minister. Kawana became Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources after the 2019 election. In a cabinet reshuffle in April 2021 he was moved to the Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security ministry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawana, Albert 1956 births Living people People from Katima Mulilo Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Alumni of the University of Warwick Namibian expatriates in the United Kingdom Namibian expatriates in Zambia SWAPO politicians Justice ministers of Namibia Attorneys-General of Namibia Fisheries ministers of Namibia Home affairs ministers of Namibia