Loide Lucky Shoopala Kasingo (born 17 February 1954)Loide Kasingo
at Namibia Institute for Democracy 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 prominent trade unionist. 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), Kasingo has been a member of 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 ...

since 1996 and was a deputy minister from 1996 to 2005. She has served as Deputy Speaker of Parliament since 2010.

Early life and education

Born in

Oshikoto Region Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. The city of Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and the towns of Omuthiya and Oniipa are also situated in this region. , Oshikoto had 112, ...

in 1954, Kasingo studied at Ongwediva High School in

Ongwediva Ongwediva is a town in the Oshana Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Ongwediva electoral constituency. it had 27,000 inhabitants and covered 4,102 hectares of land. Ongwediva has seven churches, two private sch ...

in 1971. She then moved on to the

University of the North The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions form ...

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 ...

, where she graduated from with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1978. After taking various courses in Marketing Management in South Africa from 1983 to 1984, Kasingo was sent to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

for training at the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO). In 1987, she earned a diploma in Training Methodology for Trade Union Instructors from the ILO.

Career

Kasingo rose to prominence as a key figure in the late 1980s as part of the

National Union of Namibian Workers The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) is one of three national trade union centers in Namibia. It was established in 1970 and is affiliated with SWAPO, Namibia's ruling political party. History NUNW was originally established as a gener ...

, a SWAPO-affiliated trade union. From 1989 to 1985, she was an adult literacy instructor for the Namibia Literacy Program and the Council of Churches in Namibia. Following independence in 1990, Kasingo continued as a high-level member of NUNW in various functions. When she was chosen by President

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...

to replace Ben Ulenga in the National Assembly and as Deputy Minister of Local and Regional Government and Housing. Kasingo was a public prosecutor from 1990 to 1996 for the Ministry of Justice in the

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 ...

courts. From 2000 to 2005, she was the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. Upon the election of

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 ...

in 2004, Kasingo was removed as deputy minister. Despite her demotion, she was ranked eleventh on SWAPO's list of candidates for the National Assembly, virtually guaranteeing her a place on the body, albeit as backbencher. Kasingo has been Deputy Speaker of Parliament since 2010. She is also Vice-President of the

Pan African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...

since May 2012.

Recognition

Kasingo is honorary professor at Jilin University, China, since September 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasingo, Loide 1954 births Living people Namibian trade unionists Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Oshikoto Region SWAPO politicians 20th-century Namibian women politicians 20th-century Namibian politicians 21st-century Namibian women politicians 21st-century Namibian politicians Women members of the National Assembly (Namibia)