Abraham Iyambo (2 February 1961 – 2 February 2013) was 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. Iyambo was a member of the

National Assembly of Namibia The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of clos ...

since 1995, serving as Minister of the Fisheries from 1997 to 2010 and as Minister of Education from 2010 until his death. Iyambo was a member of both the central committee and

political bureau A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist party, communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian language, Russian ''Pol ...

of the

SWAPO Party The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

and the chairperson of its

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

Education

Iyambo was born at Oniimwandi on 2 February 1961 in the

Oshana Region Oshana is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Oshakati. The towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva and Ondangwa, all situated with this region, form an urban cluster with the second largest population concentration in Namibia after the c ...

of northern Namibia, as the fourth of ten children of Helena Gabriel and Agapitus Iyambo. He attended Okata Primary School at his birth village, and Canisianum Roman Catholic Private School at Outapi for secondary education. He then went into exile and studied Food Chemistry for four years (1982–1985) in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In 1985, he left for 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 took an access course in food studies at South London College. Upon completion of the access course, he began studying towards his BSc in

Food Science Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development ...

from University of Surrey, from where he graduated from in 1990. From 1991 to 1994, he continued at Surrey, studying towards a PhD, which he received in 1994.

Career

In 1994, Iyambo worked as a consultant for

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO) on the work of the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

. He also worked as GTZ consultant for the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and for the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. Iyambo was a member of both the central committee and

of the

and the chairperson of its

. In 1995 he became a member of parliament and was appointed as deputy minister of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources for a period of two years.Abraham Iyambo
at Namibia's Institute for Democracy In 1997 he was promoted to Minister by president

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...

, a position he held for 12 years until March 2010. In March 2010 he was appointed Minister of Education by president Hifikepunye Pohamba. Iyambo was Namibia's commissioner-general for Expo 1998 held in Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. He was the chairman of SADC ministers responsible for fisheries from 1997 to 1999. Iyambo was a member of the International Task Force responsible for the fight of global Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). In 2001, he was co-chairperson for the ''Reykjavik Declaration of the Ecosystem Fisheries Management''.DR. Abraham Iyambo Profile
Retrieved 2 March 2013

Death and legacy

Iyambo had health problems related to high blood pressure for a number of years. He died from a stroke on his 52nd birthday while on business travel in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 2 February 2013. He received a

state burial A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

where a 17-

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

was fired. Iyambo is interred at Windhoek's Gammams Cemetery. Abraham Iyambo received a number of awards for his work, among them the ''

Aquaculturist Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lo ...

of the Year'' 2009, awarded by the Aquaculture Association of Southern Africa, the Margarita Lizárraga Medal for 2008/2009, awarded by the

(FAO), and the '' Kungsfenan Swedish Seafood Award''. In Namibia he was known for being a workaholic and a highly effective government minister, independent of what his current portfolio was. His time at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources earned him the nickname "Dr Fish" in honourable recognition of his many achievements. During his tenure at the Ministry of Education, Iyambo implemented free primary education, a right enshrined in Namibia's constitution since 1990. He also introduced pre-primary education at state schools. His request to "deliver, deliver, and deliver" became a popular slogan for educators and learners alike. One year after his death government renamed Oshikunde Senior Secondary School in the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi aa well as the self-governed village of Okongo. , Ohangwena had 150,724 registered voters. Ohang ...

into Dr Abraham Iyambo Senior Secondary School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iyambo, Nickey 1961 births 2013 deaths People from Oshana Region Ovambo people SWAPO politicians Fisheries ministers of Namibia Education ministers of Namibia Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Alumni of the University of Surrey