Esther Muinjangue
Esther Utjiua Muinjangue (born 17 August 1962) is a Namibian politician and the president of the National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO), a party which occupies two seats in the National Assembly of Namibia and one seat in the National Council of Namibia. In addition, she is the first woman to lead a political party in Namibia, and the country's first female presidential candidate.[1] She was appointed as the country's deputy minister of health and social services in March 2020 by Namibian president Hage Geingob. She has for a long time been advocating for social workers’ role in many aspects of people’s lives and at different levels.[2]
Esther Muinjangue | |
---|---|
Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services | |
Assumed office March 2020 | |
Preceded by | Juliet Kavetuna |
President of National Unity Democratic Organisation | |
Assumed office March 2019 | |
Preceded by | Asser Mbai |
Personal details | |
Born | Windhoek, Namibia | 17 August 1962
Political party | NUDO |
Alma mater | Academy of Tertiary Education (now University of Namibia) (BA Sci) University of Pretoria (Masters in Social Work) University of Stellenbosch (PhD) |
Education
Muinjangue is a social worker by profession and obtained her BA qualification from Academy of Tertiary Education (now University of Namibia).[3]
She further obtained her Masters in Social Work at the University of Pretoria.
In December 2019, Esther Muinjangue obtained her PhD from the Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Esther was congratulated by her party people (NUDO) for obtaining her PhD.[4]
Professional career
Muinjangue joined the public sector in 1987 as social worker, and in 1996, she became a social work lecturer at the University of Namibia.
Political career
The National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) elected Muinjangue as its President –making her the first woman leader of a political party in Namibia.
2019 Presidential election
In the 2019 Namibian general election, Muinjangue ran as a presidential candidate, but only won 1.5% of the popular vote. However, NUDO won two seats in Parliament, so, as the leader of her party, she will sit in the National Assembly.[5]
References
- Iileka, Sakeus (4 March 2019). "Nudo elects female president". The Namibian. p. 3.
- "Dr. Esther Utjiua Muinjangue , Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services in Namibia participates in the III Africa Webinar – International Federation of Social Workers". www.ifsw.org. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
- "Namibia : Esther Muinjangue, the woman who drew worlwide [sic] attention to the genocide of Hereros and Namas :: AWE - En". africawomenexperts.com. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- Namibian, The. "Nudo congratulates Muinjangue on obtaining PhD". The Namibian. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
- Iikela, Sakeus (2 December 2019). "Reduced victory ... Swapo, Geingob drop votes". The Namibian. p. 1.