Saara Kuugongelwa

Saara Kuugongelwa (born October 12, 1967, Omusati, South West Africa [now Namibia]) is a Namibian economist and politician who has been serving as the speaker of the National Assembly since March 2025. Prior to that she was the first woman to serve as prime minister of Namibia, a position she held from 2015 to 2025. She also played a key role in shaping Namibia’s economic policy as finance minister (2003–15). Kuugongelwa is a longtime member of the SWAPO Party of Namibia, which originated as a liberation movement and helped secure the country’s independence from South Africa in 1990.

Early life and education

Kuugongelwa was born in what was then considered South West Africa, which was administered by neighboring South Africa and had the discriminatory system of apartheid in place. She was orphaned young, losing her father at age 9 and her mother at age 12. She soon became involved with SWAPO and in 1980 went into exile with the group, which was amid armed resistance against South African rule.

Kuugongelwa completed primary education at a SWAPO refugee center in Angola before relocating to Sierra Leone in 1982 to complete secondary school. She received a Bachelor of Science in economics from Lincoln University (1994) in the United States and later a master’s degree in financial economics.

Early political career

After completing her degree at Lincoln University, Kuugongelwa returned to Namibia, which had gained independence in 1990. During her time abroad SWAPO had transitioned from a liberation movement to a governing party. In 1995 she worked briefly as an economist in the office of Namibia’s first president, Sam Nujoma, and was appointed director general of the National Planning Commission at age 27. In 2002 she joined SWAPO’s politburo, or policymaking committee.

Minister of finance

In 2003 Kuugongelwa was appointed Namibia’s minister of finance, becoming the first woman and youngest person to hold the role. She presented Namibia’s first budget surplus since independence for the fiscal year 2006–07 (a surplus meaning the government earned more revenue than it spent), followed by a second for the fiscal year 2007–08. She also oversaw the government’s Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth (TIPEEG; 2011–14), an initiative that created more than 83,000 jobs in Namibia. In 2011 Kuugongelwa led the issuance of Namibia’s first-ever $500 million Eurobond (a type of international bond issued in a foreign currency) to invest in infrastructure and development, including a potential entry into the oil market. This opened the door for Namibia to access international capital markets. She served as finance minister until 2015.

Prime minister

In March 2015 Namibian President-elect Hage Geingob announced that Kuugongelwa would be the next prime minister, and she became the first woman to hold the post when sworn in later that month. Geingob was reelected in 2019, and she served as prime minister during his second term as well.

As prime minister, she frequently linked economic development with women’s equality. During a visit from Modibo Keita, the prime minister of Mali, in 2016, Kuugongelwa said:

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I firmly believe that women’s empowerment and economic development are closely related.…Empowering women will bring about changes in decision making, which will have a direct impact on development.

During her tenure Kuugongelwa promoted gender-responsive budgeting initiatives to better integrate women’s needs into national economic planning; enhanced Namibia’s National Gender Policy to improve women’s access to education, jobs, and decision-making positions; and supported enforcing and improving Namibia’s legal protections against gender-based violence.

After Geingob’s death in February 2024, she continued to serve as prime minister under Nangolo Mbumba, the acting president. In March 2025 Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the winner of the 2024 presidential election, was sworn in and appointed a new prime minister.

Speaker of the National Assembly

Later that month Kuugongelwa was elected speaker of the National Assembly, the first woman to hold this position. As speaker, Kuugongelwa called for parliamentarians to work on behalf of all Namibians and has acknowledged that the issues of poverty and inequality, lingering from the pre-independence era, remain as challenges to be addressed. She also continued to advocate for women’s rights and their role in the broader issues of peace, justice, and development.

Family

Kuugongelwa is married to Namibian businessman Onesmus Tobias Amadhila. She is widely referred to in official records as Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.