The Ministry of International Relations and Trade is a department of the Namibian government. It was established as Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Namibian independence in 1990. The first Namibian foreign minister was Theo-Ben Gurirab. The minister is Selma Ashipala-Musavyi.
Names and portfolios
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as it was named since independence, was renamed Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation at the start of the 2015–2020 legislative period. In 2025 the Ministry of Trade and Industry was dissolved, and the trade portfolio was given to the foreign ministry, resulting in its name.
Ministers All foreign ministers in chronological order are:
# Picture Name Party Term start Term end Minister of Foreign Affairs 1 Theo-Ben Gurirab 1938–2018 SWAPO 1990 2002Christof Maletsky (28 August 2002): "Nujoma shuffles the Cabinet pack", The Namibian via allafrica.com. 2 Hidipo Hamutenya 1939–2016 SWAPO 2002 2004 3 Marco Hausiku 1953–2021 SWAPO 2004"Nujoma appoints new foreign minister", AFP (IOL), May 27, 2004. 2010 4 Utoni Nujoma 1952– SWAPO 2010 2012 5 Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah 1954– SWAPO 2012 2015 Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah 1954– SWAPO 2015 2024 6 Peya Mushelenga 1975– SWAPO 2024 2025 Minister of International Relations and Trade 7 Selma Ashipala-Musavyi 1960– SWAPO 2025
References