Cabinet of Namibia


The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by the Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include the following positions: the President of Namibia, the Prime Minister of Namibia and any positions that the President so appoints.
All cabinet members also sit in the National Assembly. This situation has been criticised by Namibia's civil society and the opposition as creating a significant overlap between executive and legislature, undermining the separation of powers. Moreover, the seniority of cabinet members generally relegate ordinary MPs to the back benches.

List of cabinets of Namibia

Current cabinet (2020–)

The current cabinet was announced on 21 March 2020. Several deputy minister positions have been disestablished as a cost-cutting measure. The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry has been merged with the Ministry of Land Reform, and The Ministry of Veteran Affairs is now part of Defence.
The 6th Cabinet was announced on 19 March 2015. The position of Vice-President was established for the first time, as well as five ministries with two deputy ministers each. Their double appointments significantly increased the number of top positions in public administration.
A major cabinet reshuffle occurred in February 2018 when two ministers were fired, the vice president retired on health grounds, and several other rotations took place. In the wake of the February cabinet reshuffle the number of deputy ministers was reduced again to one per ministry, with the Office of the Vice-President the only exception. This move was announced as a cost-cutting measure.
This Cabinet was appointed in 2010. The SWAPO congress end of November 2012 resulted in "one of the biggest Cabinet reshuffles the country has seen since independence".
Below is a list of the cabinet of the Republic of Namibia from appointment in 2005 until replacement in 2010:
The first cabinet after Namibian independence consisted of 19 ministers appointed by inaugural president Sam Nujoma. In 1991, two further Ministries were established: