Nangolo Mbumba (born 15 August 1941) is a Namibian politician who was the fourth

president of Namibia The president of Namibia is the head of state and head of government of Namibia. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of Namibia, government, acts as chair of the Cabinet of Namibia, Cabinet and is the commander-in-chie ...

from 2024 to 2025. He became president after the death of

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...

, under whom he had served as the second

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

from 2018 until his accession to the presidency 2024. A member of the

South West Africa People's Organization 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 ...

(SWAPO), Mbumba has headed several Namibian Government ministries: Agriculture, Water and Rural Development (1993–1996),

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

(1996–2003), Information and Broadcasting (2003–2005),

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

(2005–2010) and Safety and Security (2010–2012). From 2012 to 2017, he was the secretary-general 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 ...

. Mbumba was appointed vice president in 2018 to replace Nickey Iyambo, who departed because of ill health. He succeeded to the presidency upon the death of Hage Geingob in February 2024 and announced that he had no intention of running for election for a full term later in the year.

Education and early career

Born on 15 August 1941 in Olukonda,

Oshikoto Region Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. Further major settlements in the region are Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and Oniipa. , Oshikoto had 112,170 registered voters. Ge ...

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

(now

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 ...

), Mbumba graduated from

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

in the

United States 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 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with a BSc in 1971. In 1973, he graduated from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

with an MSc in biology. After graduating from the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Mbumba began teaching at Harlem Preparatory School in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Returning to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

in 1978, he became the head of the Science Department at the

Education Centre in Cuanza Sul,

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 ...

. In 1980, he was promoted to Principal of the Centre. He held that post until 1985.

Politics

Mbumba officially took a position with

in 1985 as Deputy Secretary for Education and Culture. Leaving that position in 1987, he became Personal Secretary to SWAPO President

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma ( ; 12May 19298February 2025) was 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 t ...

. He was the joint administrator of

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

during its handover to

in 1994. Beginning in 1993, Mbumba served 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 cl ...

and government ministries including Agriculture, Water and Rural Development (1993–1996), Finance (1996–2003), Information and Broadcasting (2003–2005), Education (2005–2010), and Safety and Security (2010–2012). Mbumba was elected

Secretary-General at its 2012 congress, a position considered #3 in the party's structure. He won with 352 votes against Utoni Nujoma 244 and pledged before the election that he would resign from his ministerial position if successful. On 4 December 2012, Immanuel Ngatjizeko was appointed to replace him as Minister of Safety and Security in the Cabinet reshuffle that followed the congress. When Nickey Iyambo, Namibia's first

, was removed from the position in 2018 due to poor health, President

appointed Mbumba as his successor.

President of Namibia (2024–2025)

Nangolo Mbumba became

acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death Death is the en ...

of Namibia when President

traveled to the

for cancer treatment on 24 January 2024. Mbumba announced the passing of Dr. Geingob in the early hours of 4 February. He was sworn in about 15 hours after Geingob's death on 4 February 2024 by Chief Justice Peter Shivute at the State House in

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, which ...

and appointed Deputy Prime Minister

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Ndemupelila Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (born 29October 1952), nicknamed NNN, is a Namibian politician who is the fifth and current president of Namibia since 21 March 2025. She is the country's first female president. Previously, she served as the th ...

to be his successor as Vice President. She was fielded by Geingob as the

presidential candidate for 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 ...

, as his successor. Mbumba pledged to finish Geingob's term, which would expire on 21 March 2025, adding: "I am not going to be around for the elections. So don't panic." Mbumba was the Chief Mourner during the passing of Dr Hage Geingob and served that title once again when the Father of the Namibian Nation, Dr

passed away on the 9th of February 2025. Mbumba was honored with Namibia’s highest award, The Most Ancient Order of

Welwitschia Mirabilis ''Welwitschia'' is a monotypic genus of gnetophytes containing only the species ''Welwitschia mirabilis''. It is named after the Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch, who documented the plant in the 1850s. In common use, it is sometimes ref ...

. This award is named after Namibia’s iconic desert plant, and this accolade is the highest national honor recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to the country. Former 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 ...

presented Mbumba with the award and sash, symbolizing his role as Head of State.

Honours

* : **

Order of José Martí (17 December 2024) * Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis (2024) Conferred by H.E Dr

, Former

President of Namibia The president of Namibia is the head of state and head of government of Namibia. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of Namibia, government, acts as chair of the Cabinet of Namibia, Cabinet and is the commander-in-chie ...

, 2005-2015.

References

Sources

* Hopwood, Graham. Guide to Namibian Politics, 2007 edition. Namibia Institute for Democracy,

, 2007

External links

Interview
winne.com, 27 February 2006 , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mbumba, Nangolo 1941 births Living people Presidents of Namibia University of Connecticut alumni Vice presidents of Namibia Namibian educators Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Politicians from Oshikoto Region SWAPO politicians Agriculture ministers of Namibia Education ministers of Namibia Finance ministers of Namibia Information ministers of Namibia Security ministers of Namibia Oshigambo High School alumni Members of SWAPO Southern Connecticut State University alumni