Piet Jacobus van der Walt (born 14 January 1966 in Okahandja) is a Namibian businessperson and politician who has been the Deputy Minister of National Planning since 2018.

Early life and education

Van der Walt grew up in Okahandja and went to primary school there. His secondary school was the Higher Technical School in Windhoek. He became a diesel mechanic by profession, graduating in 1989 from the Windhoek Technical College. He also holds an engineering diploma in mechanical drawing and machines and properties of metals. Commenting on his alleged service for '' Koevoet'', the counter-insurgency branch of the South West African Police (SWAPOL) before

Namibian independence The history of Namibia has passed through several distinct stages from being colonised in the late nineteenth century to Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990. From 1884, Namibia was a German colony: German South West Africa. After the First W ...

, he stated that his short stint in Oshakati in the north of Namibia was merely to serve in the auxiliary service as mechanic. From 1990 he worked for Old Mutual in Windhoek. In 1999 he started ''Van der Walt Motors'', a service station with surrounding shops near Windhoek's city centre.

Political career

A White Afrikaner Namibian, van der Walt began associating with

SWAPO 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 ...

in a business capacity following independence in 1990. He was placed on the parliamentary list for SWAPO at number 42 prior to the 2009 National Assembly election and subsequently elected. He was associated with the SWAPO Youth League. He retained his parliamentary seat in the 2014 general elections and was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister for Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development. After a

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

reshuffle in February 2018 he swapped positions with Lucia Iipumbu and is since then Deputy Minister of National Planning.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van der Walt, Piet 1966 births Living people Namibian people of South African descent Namibian businesspeople Namibian farmers van der Walt, Piet van der Walt, Piet Namibian expatriates in South Africa Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Otjozondjupa Region SWAPO politicians