Namibia to inaugurate its first woman President

Namibia inaugurates first female president, Nandi-Ndaitwah, focusing on job creation and unity after contentious elections.

Southern Africa's desert nation of Namibia swears in its first woman President Friday (March 21, 2025) after Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah won elections last year that extended the ruling party's 35-year grip on power.

Ms. Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, will become one of the few women leaders in the region when she is inaugurated at a ceremony to be attended by heads of states of neighbouring countries including Angola and South Africa.

Previously the Vice President, she is a stalwart of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) that led the sparsely populated and uranium-rich country to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

Popularly known by her initials NNN, Ms. Nandi-Ndaitwah secured 58% of the vote in the chaotic November elections, which were extended several times after logistical failures led to major delays.

The youthful opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) mounted a strong challenge but took only 25.5 percent of the vote, underscoring continued loyalty to SWAPO even as the popularity of other southern African liberation parties has waned.

A key issue at the polls was massive unemployment among the young population, with 44% of 18- to 34-year-olds without work in 2023 in a country of just three million people.

On the eve of her inauguration, NNN said tackling unemployment was a priority.