Leon Jooste (born 18 February 1969 in

Grootfontein , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = Fons Vitæ , image_skyline = Grootfontein grass.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_si ...

Otjozondjupa Region Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Ge ...

) 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 and businessperson who served as Minister of Public Enterprises until 1 December 2022.

Education and early life

Jooste attended school at

Paul Roos Gymnasium Paul Roos Gymnasium is a public, dual medium (Afrikaans & English) high school for boys in the town of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, and opened on the 1st of March 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium. It is the 12th oldest school in the c ...

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

and at Abbott's College 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 ...

, both

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. In 1991 he graduated from

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

with a BA in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

. He is a professional helicopter pilot since 1993, and upon his return to Namibia became managing director of ''Eden Wildlife Trust'', a tourism enterprise near Grootfontein.

Political career

A member of SWAPO, Jooste was appointed to replace Gerhard Tötemeyer in the

National Assembly of Namibia The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of clos ...

in 2004. He had not been placed high enough on the SWAPO Party list in the 2004 general election to directly enter Parliament after the election. Jooste was appointed Deputy Minister for Local and Regional Government the same year. In 2005, he was shifted to the Environment and Tourism portfolio in

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 wa ...

's first cabinet, again as deputy minister. Jooste resigned in late 2009 in order to take over the family business in Cape Town after the death of his father. 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 ...

, Jooste was appointed as Minister of Public Enterprises in March 2015. Decisions under his reign were often controversial and unpopular and included the closures of state-owned

Air Namibia Air Namibia (Pty) Limited, which traded as Air Namibia, was the national airline of Namibia, headquartered in the country's capital, Windhoek. It operated scheduled domestic, regional, and international passenger and cargo services, having its ...

and the Road Contractor's Company. In 2021 he suggested that the ministry he heads should be downgraded to a department within the Ministry of Finance, effectively abolishing his own ministerial position. Jooste resigned as member of Parliament and cabinet minister on 31 March 2022. He had served in Parliament from 2004 to 2006, from 2015 till 2020, and from 2020 till 2022. He was replaced by Ephraim Nekongo ( SWAPO), effectively on 9 May 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jooste, Leon 1969 births Government ministers of Namibia Living people Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Grootfontein Stellenbosch University alumni SWAPO politicians White Namibian people