Stefanus "Steve" Orateng Mogotsi (born 26 December 1961) 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 and former

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

boxer. A member of

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 ...

, Mogotsi won a seat in the Regional Council of

Omaheke Region Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed vil ...

in 2004. He was subsequently selected to the 3rd National Council of Namibia. The seat, representing

Kalahari Constituency Kalahari Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Omaheke Region of eastern central Namibia. It had 9,234 inhabitants in 2004 and 5,294 registered voters . The constituency covers the rural area east of Gobabis as well as Gobabis' Nossob ...

, had been held by the

Democratic Turnhalle Alliance The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic ...

since 1992.

Early life and education

Mogotsi was born in

Aminuis Aminuis is a cluster of small settlements in the remote eastern part of the Omaheke Region of Namibia, located about 500 km east of Windhoek. It is the district capital of the Aminuis electoral constituency. Economy and Infrastructure Ami ...

. He was a featherweight boxing champion and a winger for the Namibian rugby union team in 2011. He joined SWAPO in 1978, while studying at St. Joseph's High School in Döbra.

Career

He became increasingly involved in politics when he worked at

Consolidated Diamond Mines Consolidated may refer to: *Consolidated (band) **''¡Consolidated!'', a 1989 extended play *Consolidated Aircraft (later Convair), an aircraft manufacturer *Consolidated city-county *Consolidated Communications * Consolidated school district *Con ...

(CDM) in

Oranjemund Oranjemund (German for ''"Mouth of Orange"'') is a diamond mining town of 4,000 inhabitants situated in the ǁKaras Region of the extreme southwest of Namibia, on the northern bank of the Orange River mouth at the border to South Africa. Histo ...

ǁKaras Region The ǁKaras Region (pronounced , with a lateral click) is the southernmost and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain rang ...

. At CDM, Mogotsi became the shop steward for the

Mineworkers Union of Namibia The Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) is one of the most powerful of Namibia's trade unions. It plays a leading public role in the Namibian political space and is an ally of the ruling South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) government. M ...

. In 1994, Mogotsi moved permanently back to Omaheke Region, the region of his birth, to become a full-time commercial farmer and building contractor. In 1998, Mogotsi contested the Kalahari constituency, but lost to the DTA candidate. Six years later, Mogotsi won the seat. In 2005, he was selected to the

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 ...

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was ...

as Deputy Minister of Works, Transport and Communication following the resignation of

Paulus Kapia Paulus Kapia (born 18 September 1967 in Ehafo, Oshana Region) is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Kapia was first elected to the National Assembly of Namibia in 2005. He was appointed to the politburo of SWAPO and served for a short time ...

. With this appointment Mogotsi became the first ethnic

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Bophuthatswana, the former ba ...

to serve in any Namibian cabinet.

References

1961 births Living people People from Omaheke Region Tswana people SWAPO politicians Government ministers of Namibia Members of the National Council (Namibia) Namibian businesspeople Featherweight boxers Namibian male boxers {{Namibia-politician-stub