Nangolo Mbumba (born 15 August 1941) in Olukonda,

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 ...

. He is a Namibian politician who currently serves as the 2nd

vice president of Namibia The vice-president of Namibia serves as the acting President of Namibia when the President is outside the country's borders, unable to fulfill the duties of the office, or when the Presidency is vacant. The Vice-President is also a member of th ...

. A member of the

South West Africa People's Organization 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 ...

(SWAPO), Mbumba has headed a number of Namibian ministries: Agriculture, Water and Rural Development (1993–1996), Finance (1996–2003), Information and Broadcasting (2003–2005)

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

(2005–2010), and Safety and Security (2010–2012). In 2012 he became the secretary-general of SWAPO serving until 2017.

Education and early career

Born on 15 August 1941 in

Olukonda Olukonda is a settlement in the Oshikoto Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Olukonda electoral constituency. During colonial time of German South West Africa the missionary station and settlement was known as the ...

Oshikoto Region Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. The city of Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and the towns of Omuthiya and Oniipa are also situated in this region. , Oshikoto had 112, ...

, Mbumba graduated from

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

with a BSc in 1971. In 1973, he graduated from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

with an MSc in biology. After graduating from the University in Connecticut, Mbumba began teaching at Harlem Preparatory School in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Leaving New York in 1978, he returned to Africa and began work as Head of the Science Department at the Namibia Education Centre in Cuanza Sul,

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. In 1980, he was promoted to the post of Principal of the Centre, lasting in that position until 1985.

Politics

Mbumba officially took a position with SWAPO in 1985 as Deputy Secretary for Education and Culture. Leaving that position in 1987, Mbumba entered the position of Personal Secretary to SWAPO 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 ...

. Continuing in inter-party positions, including as joint-administrator of

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...

during its handover to Namibia in 1994, Mbumba gradually worked his way up the party. Since 1993, he 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 ...

. Also beginning in 1993, Mbumba held a succession of ministries, including Agriculture, Water and Rural Development (1993-1996), Finance (1996-2003), Information and Broadcasting (2003-2005) Education (2005–2010), and Safety and Security (2010-2012). Mbumba won the election for SWAPO Secretary-General at the 2012 SWAPO congress, a position that is considered #3 in the SWAPO party structure. He won with 352 votes against

Utoni Nujoma Utoni Daniel Nujoma (born 8 September 1952) is a Namibian politician who serves as Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation since March 2020. He has served in various government ministerial positions in the government s ...

244 and pledged before the election that he would resign from his ministerial position if successful. On 4 December 2012,

Immanuel Ngatjizeko Immanuel Ngatjizeko (30 May 1952 – 5 March 2022) was a Namibian politician and member of the ruling SWAPO Party. He held five ministerial portfolios from 2003 until his retirement in 2018. Early life and education Immanuel Ngatjizeko was born ...

was appointed to replace Mbumba as Minister of Safety and Security in the Cabinet reshuffle that followed the congress. When Nickey Iyambo, Namibia's first

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

, was removed from the position on the ground of poor health, 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 ...

appointed Mbumba as successor. Mbumba is known for his sharp tongue.

References

Further sources

* Hopwood, Graham. Guide to Namibian Politics, 2007 edition.

Namibia Institute for Democracy 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 ...

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

, 2007

External links

Interview
winne.com, 27 February 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mbumba, Nangolo 1941 births Living people University of Connecticut alumni Vice presidents of Namibia Namibian educators Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Oshikoto Region SWAPO politicians Agriculture ministers of Namibia Education ministers of Namibia Finance ministers of Namibia Information ministers of Namibia Security ministers of Namibia Oshigambo High School alumni