Alpheus ǀGou-ǃna ǃNaruseb (born 20 March 1954) is a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n politician who has served in the

cabinet of Namibia The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by Chapter 6 (Articles 35-42) of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include the following positions: the President of Namibia, the Prime Minister of Namibia and any pos ...

in various portfolios. A member of the

South West Africa People's Organization The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

(SWAPO), !Naruseb has served in the cabinet since 1997 and the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

since 1995.

Early life and education

ǃNaruseb was born on 20 March 1954 in

Usakos , nickname = , settlement_type = Town , motto = Excelsior , image_skyline = Usakos Luftaufnahme (2018).jpg , imagesize = 300 , image_caption = Aerial photograph of Usakos (2018 ...

Erongo Region Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as w ...

. From 1970 to 1975, he attended Martin Luther High School in

Okombahe Okombahe is a settlement in the Erongo Region of eastern central Namibia, situated on the Omaruru River north of Karibib. It is regarded as the capital of the ǂNûkhoen ( Damara) tribe; the annual King's Festival is held at the town's ''Gaob M ...

. Thereafter he worked for Rössing Uranium in several positions. He has also studied towards a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

(L.L.B.) at the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the follow ...

Political career

ǃNaruseb joined SWAPO in 1975 at the age of 21. The next year he began working as a maintenance planner at the Rössing Uranium Mine in Arandis, which lasted until 1980. In that year, he became industrial relations officer at the Mine, which lasted until independence in 1990. During the run-up to

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

the late 1980s, he was the internal SWAPO secretary for economic affairs. Following a stint as head organiser of mass organisations in SWAPO from 1990 to 1991, he joined the SWAPO

central committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

in that year. From 1992 to 2002, ǃNaruseb was the head of information and publicity in the SWAPO Party. He also was selected to the National Assembly in 1995.Alpheus !Naruseb
at the Namibia Institute of Democracy, 2007 In 1997, ǃNaruseb was appointed deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, which lasted until his move to deputy

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in 2003. In 2005 he was promoted to Minister of Labour and Social Welfare under the newly elected president

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was ...

. In 2008, !Naruseb was shuffled to the post of Minister of Lands and Resettlement, replacing

Jerry Ekandjo Jerry Lukiiko Ekandjo (born 17 March 1947) is a Namibian politician, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He is one of the founding members of the SWAPO Youth League and has been one of the most active internal leading members ...

. ǃNaruseb expressed frustration at the pace of

land reform in Namibia Land reform is an important political and economic topic in Namibia. It consists of two different strategies: resettlement, and transfer of commercially viable agricultural land. Resettlement is aimed at improving the lives of displaced or disposs ...

, suggesting that the law be changed to "prioritise the resettlement of the most needy". Under president

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 201 ...

, ǃNaruseb was appointed as Minister of Works and Transport in March 2015. in 2018 he was shuffled to the post of Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry. He resigned from his political posts in 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naruseb, Alpheus 1954 births Living people People from Erongo Region Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) SWAPO politicians Labour ministers of Namibia Land reform ministers of Namibia Works and transport ministers of Namibia Agriculture ministers of Namibia