Dr. Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila

Kuugongelwa-Amadhila returned to Namibia following her graduation from Lincoln University and took a position as economist in the Office of the President under Sam Nujoma. In 1995, after only a few months in the job, Nujoma appointed her to parliament at the age of 27, and made her director general of the National Planning Commission, a position in the rank of a minister. In 2003 Nujoma promoted her to Minister of Finance.

Alongside President Hage Geingob, she was sworn in as the 4th Prime Minister of Namibia on 21 March 2015. She is the first woman to hold the position.

In May 2016, she took part in “A Conversation with The Right Honourable Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia,” a moderated discussion with Wilson Center’s Women in Public Service Project, the Wilson Center Africa Program, and the Constituency for Africa. She has spoken about gender equality on numerous occasions, including during the Mali Prime Minister Modibo Keita’s visit and in a speech (read by Christine Hoebes on her behalf) at the 10th Namibian Women’s Summit where she stated that it would take 70 years to close the gender pay gap across Africa.