Monica Nashandi (née Shivolo born 12 October 1959) 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 diplomat and politician. Nashandi was Namibia's ambassador to

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n countries as well as the former High Commissioner to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Nashandi was removed from the

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 ...

list A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...

for the 2009 general election because she had not registered to vote, a requirement under Namibian law. Nashandi was Namibia's ambassador to the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

from 2019 to 2020.

Early life and education

Nashandi was born on 12 October 1959 in the village of Ompundja in

Oshana Region Oshana is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia; its capital is Oshakati. The towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva and Ondangwa, all situated with this region, form an urban cluster with the second largest population concentration in Namibia after the c ...

. As a refugee in 1978, she survived the

Battle of Cassinga The Battle of Cassinga also known as the Cassinga Raid or Kassinga Massacre was a controversial South African airborne forces, airborne attack on a SWAPO, South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) military camp at the town of Cassinga, Ang ...

, a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n airborne attack on SWAPO across the border in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. She later received military training and joined the

People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) during the S ...

(PLAN), SWAPO's armed wing during the

Namibian War of Independence The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

. Nashandi graduated with a diploma in youth and development from

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

in 1983 and earned a master's degree in diplomatic studies from the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

in 2002 while on a diplomatic posting.

Career

Following Namibia's independence in 1990, Nashandi served as Deputy Chief of Protocol in the State House of Namibia prior to her appointment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Under-Secretary for Political and Economic Affairs. From 1995 to 1999, she was Namibia's ambassador to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. From 1999 to 2005, she became her country's high commissioner to the

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Nashandi has been the acting non-executive chairperson of the board at Trustco Group Holdings Limited since 2006. Trustco Group Holdings is a publicly traded company which provides micro-insurance and financial services. In November 2007, Nashandi was named to the board of directors of Africon, a Namibian engineering firm. At the time of her appointment, she was the only female on the board.

Removal from party list

At the September 2009 SWAPO party conference, Nashandi was placed 30th on the SWAPO party list for the coming elections for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

as one of President

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1935) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 Namibian presidential election, 2004 presidential election overwhelming ...

's ten personal nominations to that list. Because of the Public Service Act which states that public employees must either use vacation time or resign in order to get time off to run for public office, she had no vacation time and was forced to resign from her position as Deputy Executive Director in the State House in order to run for the National Assembly. But Nashandi was nearly guaranteed a place in the National Assembly due to her comfortable position on the SWAPO list. A month prior to the elections, Nashandi was removed from the SWAPO list when the

Electoral Commission of Namibia The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) is an agency of the government of Namibia. It was founded in 1992 under the Electoral Act 24 of 1992. The aim of the commission is to oversee all Namibian electoral activities starting from voter registra ...

discovered that Nashandi was not in possession of a valid voter's card and thus not a registered voter, a necessary condition to qualify for election to the National Assembly.

Priscilla Beukes Priscilla Beukes is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Beukes was elected to the National Assembly of Namibia in 2010. She was subsequently appointed to the Cabinet of Namibia (2010-), cabinet as the Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Go ...

, at that time mayor of Mariental, took her place on the list. Days after the removal, the former ambassador called her removal a "technical oversight"; she had not registered to vote in the 2004 general election because she was serving as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom at the time, and foreign missions did not conduct voter's registrations. It was widely expected that Nashandi would register to vote in the 2009 election and be appointed as one of the presidential additional six nominees for the National Assembly, but this did not occur.

Private life

Nashandi is married to a lieutenant colonel in the

Namibian Defence Force The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Nami ...

, who is based in

Otavi Otavi is a town with 10,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. Situated 360 km north of Windhoek, it is the district capital of the Otavi electoral constituency. Geography The towns of Otavi, Tsumeb (to the north) and Gr ...

. Her daughter, Anna Svetlana Nashandi, who was born in 1984 while Nashandi was in exile in Angola, won the 2006 Miss Namibia beauty pageant competition at the

Windhoek Country Club Resort The Windhoek Country Club Resort is a multi-use resort outside of Windhoek, Namibia owned by the Government of Namibia, and managed by Legacy Hotels and Resorts International. The Resort was opened in May 1995 and was home to the Miss Universe 19 ...

.Miss Namibia 2006 crowned
The Southern Times Her son Iyambo Erastus Nashandi was born in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nashandi, Monica 1959 births Living people African women in war SWAPO politicians People from Oshana Region Alumni of the University of Westminster Namibian women in business Namibian businesspeople Namibian women diplomats People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel High commissioners of Namibia to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Namibia to Ireland Ambassadors of Namibia to Iceland Ambassadors of Namibia to Norway Ambassadors of Namibia to Sweden Ambassadors of Namibia to Denmark Ambassadors of Namibia to Finland University of Zambia alumni Women in war 1945–1999 20th-century Namibian women politicians 21st-century Namibian women politicians 20th-century Namibian politicians 21st-century Namibian politicians Namibian women ambassadors