The Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MODVA) is the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
department responsible for the administration of military affairs and veterans affairs in
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 ...
. It was established as Ministry of Defence (MOD) at
Namibian independence in 1990. In 2020 the portfolio of veteran affairs was added to defence after the
Ministry of Veteran Affairs had been dissolved in 2015. The first Namibian defence minister was
Peter Mweshihange, the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs is
Frans Kapofi.
Apart from formulating Namibia's defence policies the Ministry of Defence is the headquarters for the
Namibian Defence Force (NDF). The NDF owns
August 26 Group, a holding company for a number of commercial entities related to the military, among them Namibia's only arms manufacturer
Windhoeker Maschinenfabrik.
The political leader of MODVA is the minister while the accounting officer is the executive director (ED), deputised by a deputy executive director. The deputy ED heads the Department of Defence secretariat and administration. This department is made up of six directorates: Education and Civil Training, Construction and Maintenance, Finance, Defence Central Staff, Procurement Research and Development, and Defence Legal Advisor. All the directorates are headed by civilian directors. In exceptional cases, commissioned officers with the rank of
Brigadier general can be appointed as directors in the department.
Ministers of Defence
*
Peter Mweshihange (1990–1995)
*
Philemon Malima (1995–1997)
*Colonel (ret)
Erkki Nghimtina
Erkki Nghimtina (born 16 September 1947) is a Namibian politician and former military officer in the Namibia Defence Force (NDF). A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Nghimtina served as member of the National Assemb ...
(1997–2005)
*Major General (ret)
Charles Namoloh
Major General Charles Dickson Ndaxu Phillip Namoloh (born 28 February 1950) is a Namibian diplomat, politician and military figure who served in the cabinet of Namibia as Minister of Safety and Security from March 2015 to March 2020. Namoloh has ...
(2005–2012)
*
Nahas Angula (2012–2015)
*
Penda Ya Ndakolo (2015–2020)
*Rear Admiral (ret)
Peter Vilho (2020-2021)
*
Frans Kapofi (2021-current)
References
Military of Namibia
Defence
1990 establishments in Namibia
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 ...
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