Hendrik Gaobaeb (born 24 April 1964) is a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n politician. He is the president of the United Democratic Front since January 2024 and its presidential candidate in the

2024 Namibian general election General elections were held in Namibia to elect a new president and members of the National Assembly. Initially scheduled on 27 November 2024, these were later extended in some areas to 30 November due to poor planning. Opposition parties decri ...

. Gaobaeb is a member of the United Democratic Front (UDF) since 1980. He holds a National Diploma in Public Administration from the Polytechnic of Namibia (today

Namibia University of Science and Technology Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

). From 1996 to 2004 he was CEO of

Khorixas Khorixas is a town with about 9,000 inhabitants in the southern part of the Kunene Region, Namibia. It was the capital of the Damaraland bantustan before Namibia's independence. It is the administrative capital of Khorixas Constituency. Most of ...

. Gaobaeb won the 2004 regional election for UDF in

Sesfontein Constituency Sesfontein Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Kunene Region of Namibia. Its district capital is the settlement of Sesfontein. The constituency had a population of 7,358 in 2004. , it has 5,614 registered voters. Sesfontein Consti ...

. He was reelected in the 2010 regional election. In this second term as constituency councillor he was elected regional councillor and represented

Kunene Region Kunene is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Opuwo, its governor is Vipuakuje Muharukua. The region's name comes from the Kunene River which forms the northern border with Angola. Geography Besides the capital Opuwo, the reg ...

in the National Council. In the 2015 regional election Gaobaeb lost Sesfontein constituency to Julius Koujova of

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

. In the 2020 regional election he again became councillor. In January 2024 Gaobaeb became president of the UDF at its elective congress. He subsequently was nominated presidential candidate for the

2024 presidential election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...

References

1964 births Living people Namibia University of Science and Technology alumni Members of the National Council (Namibia) 21st-century Namibian politicians United Democratic Front (Namibia) politicians Candidates for President of Namibia {{Namibia-politician-stub