Hage Geingob: Namibia's Prime Minister for a Second Time

Just under two days after becoming SWAPO's (Namibia's ruling party) next presidential candidate Hage Geingob was reappointed to his old job as prime minister in a major Cabinet reshuffle announced by President Hifikepunye Pohamba. For Geingob it has been a vindication of his political career, which started in 1961 when he joined SWAPO and soon after became the party's voice at the United Nations.

Prime Minister Hage Geingob with Cuban President Fidel Castro 2001
(Adalberto Roque, AFP)

Geingob was Namibia's first prime minister serving from 1990 to 2002. SWAPO has often been seen as a party in which cultural mandates sometimes over rule political ones. Geingob's desire to succeed first president Nujoma was often frowned upon and is believed to have played a major part in his sudden dismissal as prime minister in 2002.

In 2003, Hage Geingob was invited to be the Executive Secretary of the Global Coalition for Africa based in Washington, D.C. The Global Coalition for Africa is an innovative intergovernmental forum that brings together top African policymakers and their partners in the international community to build consensus on Africa’s priority development issues. 

 



On the campaign trail, 2012.
(Courtesy: Nambia Sun)

 

It is based on the premise that Africa can grow only from within, but to do so it needs outside support. His focus was to work with African continental and regional organizations and Africa’s development partners towards conflict resolution in Africa, promotion of good governance in African states, and integration of African economies in the global economy.

October 2, 2004, Geingob, left the Global Coalition for Africa and returned to Namibia to participate in the November 2004 parliamentary election, in which he won a seat. Geingob became the Party Chief Whip of SWAPO in the National Assembly on April 18, 2007. He was appointed as Minister of Trade and Industry on April 8, 2008.

At SWAPO's 2012 party congress held in December, Geingob was re-elected as Vice-President of SWAPO, a result that is likely to make him the successor of Hifikepunye Pohamba as President of Namibia in 2015. President Pohamba appointed Geingob as Prime Minister on December 4, 2012.