Democracy, Gender, and Leadership in Africa: President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia

Please join Perry World House for a conversation with President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia.  President Nandi-Ndaitwah began her term in March 2025 as only the second woman ever elected president in Africa, and the first in Namibia.  Today, under President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s leadership, two thirds of Namibia’s cabinet positions are held by women, including offices in foreign affairs, finance, health, and education.   

Her election comes at a time when democracy globally is under threat and policies supporting women’s empowerment are being rolled back on every continent, including Africa.  At the same time, surveys show that support for democracy in Africa is strong: two-thirds of Africans say they prefer democracy to any other system of government.   

President Nandi-Ndaitwah has announced a commitment to democracy, gender equality, improved governance, and economic growth.  What can we learn from Namibia’s experience?  What can it tell us about democracy and gender in the region and beyond?  On a continent where the median age is 19, the population is set to double to 2.5 billion by 2050, and global share of GDP could triple in the next two decades, the answers to these questions are of global importance. 

Speaker

H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was elected president of Namibia in December 2024. Her political career started in 1966 when she joined the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) at the age of 14. In 1974, she left the country to join SWAPO in exile to fight for Namibia’s independence. She returned to Namibia in 1989 and following Independence in 1990, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. She served as a Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare from 2000-2005 where she played a pivotal role in advocating for the protection of the rights of women and children both domestically and internationally. She has held other ministerial positions including Minister of Environment and Tourism and Minister of Foreign Affairs. H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is married to the former Chief of Defence Force of the Republic of Namibia, Lieutenant-General (Rtd) Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah with whom she shares three sons.

Moderator

Joseph Asunka has served as CEO of Afrobarometer since April 2021. He was previously program officer in the Global Development and Population program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, where he managed a portfolio of grants that support efforts to increase transparency and accountability in fiscal governance and foster citizen participation to improve public services in developing countries.

Before joining Hewlett, Joseph was a lecturer in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he taught courses on African politics, political economy of development, research methods, and data analysis. Prior to that, he was program officer at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, a Core Partner of Afrobarometer. He served as data manager for Afrobarometer prior to his PhD studies at UCLA.

Joseph’s research interests include distributive politics, elections and electoral processes, and migration. He has published in journals such as the British Journal of Political Science, Research and Politics, and Population Research and Policy Review. Born in Ghana, Joseph holds a PhD in political science from UCLA.