Elia George Kaiyamo (born 10 January 1951) 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. A member of SWAPO, Kaiyamo was an internal organizer and teacher for SWAPO prior to independence. He 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 ...

as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration from 2010 to 2015. On 2 September 2016, President Hage Geingob appointed Kaiyamo as Ambassador-designate to the People's Republic of China.

Early life and education

Born at Ondobe in

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi aa well as the self-governed village of Okongo. , Ohangwena had 150,724 registered voters. Ohang ...

, Kaiyamo earned a B.A. from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in 1989. He earned another B.A. from 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 ...

in 1992. In 1994, Kaiyamo earned a M.A. in international relations from

Pacific Western University The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

.Elia Kaiyamo
at Namibia Institute for Democracy

Career

Kaiyamo worked at various schools in

Katutura Katutura (Otjiherero for ''The place where people do not want to live'') is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which a ...

, the blacks-only

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

from 1976 to 1987. He was also an organizer for SWAPO during this time period. In 1988–1989, Kaiyamo studied in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

towards a bachelor's degree. Kaiyamo returned as Namibia became independent and became assistant principal at A Shipena High School in Windhoek. Lasting in that position until 1991, he left education to work for the Foreign Ministry of Namibia. Kaiyamo worked in Europe at various Namibian embassies, including in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

from 1991 to 1997. From 1997 to 1999, Kaiyamo served as desk officer at the Foreign Ministry. He was selected to represent SWAPO in the National Assembly in 2000 and subsequently re-elected in 2005 and 2009. Kaiyamo was appointed Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration in President Hifikepunye Pohamba's new cabinet on 21 March 2010.

Publications

Research proposals on Namibia 2010; Education and Stakeholders in Namibia 2007

Awards

Room of Fame, Namibia, 2007

References

1951 births Living people People from Ohangwena Region Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Namibian educators University of Namibia alumni University of Cape Town alumni Namibian expatriates in the United States Namibian expatriates in South Africa SWAPO politicians Government ministers of Namibia Ambassadors of Namibia to China {{Namibia-politician-stub