Laura Veendapi McLeod-Katjirua 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 been Governor of the Khomas Region since 2012 and Deputy Secretary General of

SWAPO 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 ...

since 2012. Previously she was Governor of

Omaheke Region Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed v ...

from 2001 to 2012. She was transferred to Khomas Region by 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 ...

after she was elected as Deputy Secretary General of SWAPO on December 2, 2012.

Early life and education

Laura McLeod grew up in

Gobabis , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = Ex Oriente Lux , image_skyline = Gobabis Namibia aerial.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imag ...

, the regional capital of Omaheke. She went into

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

n exile in 1975 while she still was a teenager and completed her secondary education there at Nyango Education Centre in 1978. She graduated with a diploma in Public Administration from the United Nations Institute for Namibia, and with a Teacher's Diploma from the National Institute for Public Administration in 1982, both located in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was about 3.3 millio ...

. McLeod then stayed in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

, and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

and returned to Namibia in 1989. Upon Namibian independence in 1990, she worked as an agricultural technician.

Political career

McLeod was elected Regional Councillor for

in 2001, and Governor in 2002. She was the first female Governor of Omaheke. In the same year she was elected to 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 December 2012 she was elected as SWAPO Deputy Secretary-General, a position considered number four in the SWAPO hierarchy.

Private life

McLeod-Katjirua has one son and one daughter.

References

Living people Governors of Khomas Region Governors of Omaheke Region People from Windhoek SWAPO politicians Women regional governors of Namibia Year of birth missing (living people) Women governors and heads of sub-national entities 21st-century Namibian women politicians 21st-century Namibian politicians {{Namibia-politician-stub