Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in Friday as the first woman president of Namibia, which became independent 35 years ago.

Here are five things to know about the leader of this stable and mineral-rich country of around three million people in the south of the continent.

– Ruling party veteran –

NNN, as she is popularly known, is a long-time loyalist of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) that has governed Namibia since its independence from South Africa in 1990.

SWAPO’s dominance meant that there was little surprise that she won the November 2024 polls, where she took 58 per cent of votes as the party’s candidate.

Nandi-Ndaitwah became a member of the party at the age of 14, when it was leading the struggle for independence, and became its first woman president last year.

– Long government career –

Nandi-Ndaitwah entered the national assembly in 1990 and was first appointed as cabinet minister in 2000 to head the women’s and children ministry.

She has also served as minister of information, environment and tourism, and of foreign affairs, as well as deputy prime minister.

In February 2024 she was appointed vice president, the first woman to hold that post in the country.

– 72 years old –

Born in October 1952, Nandi-Ndaitwah will be sworn in at the age of 72 for a five-year term.

She will lead a largely young country with more than 70 per cent of the population aged under 34, according to the 2023 census.

NNN took over from 83-year-old Nangolo Mbumba, who came to power in February 2024 following the death of his predecessor, Hage Geingob at the age of 82.

– Conservative views –

The daughter of an Anglican pastor and educated at a mission school, Nandi-Ndaitwah has conservative views on issues like abortion, which is illegal in most cases in the largely Christian country.

Her party voted against gay marriage in 2023.

– Exile, studies in Russia, UK –

NNN spent 15 years in exile, leaving in 1974 when she was aged 21 and spending time in Zambia and Tanzania, as well as Russia, where she joined the Komsomol, a Soviet Union-era communist youth organisation.

She obtained a post-graduate diploma in public administration and management at the Glasgow College of Technology in 1987, and a master’s degree in diplomatic studies at England’s Keele University in 1989.

AFP