Who's Who
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| Amkongo, Eddie Shimwethelini - Civil servant | ||||
 Eddie Amkongo was appointed as Chairperson of the Public Service Commission in early 2006. Previously Amkongo was Namibia’s top diplomat in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the aftermath of civil war there (in which Namibian troops backed incumbent leader Laurent Kabila). Amkongo arrived in the DRC three weeks before Kabila was assassinated in 2000.As a longtime Swapo diplomat, Amkongo can speak French and Lingala and already had knowledge of the area before he took up his posting in Kinshasa. From 2000 to 2003 he was a political advisor to the allied armies in the DRC (Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola) as the Lusaka peace protocol was implemented. Previously he had been Namibia’s representative in Ethiopia. In the 1990s he held several key posts inside Namibia including in the Office of the President, where he established its administrative structure, and as Cabinet Secretary. While at school in Oshigambo in the 1960s, the police found him in possession of Swapo publications and letters from his friend Helmut Angula, then in the Soviet Union. He later became a member of the Swapo Regional Executive in the North. Fearing arrest, he left Namibia on June 18 1974 with Erastus Shamena, Nghidimondjila Shoombe, Andreas Nuukuawo and Tulinane Emvula. He was trained as a Swapo fighter at Oshatotwa camp in Zambia before being called to work for Swapo’s radio station, the Voice of Namibia, at first in Zambia and then in Brazzaville, Congo. In the late 1980s he participated in Swapo’s negotiations with the UN, the Western Contact Group and South Africa over the peace plan for Namibia. He describes himself as having an “independent mind” (CV, 2004). |
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| Personal: | ||||
| Born on December 1 1945 in the Ondangwa district | ||||
| Education: | ||||
| Attended journalism courses at Evelyn Hone College, Lusaka, Zambia (1974-75). Studied for B Admin Degree at Turfloop University in South Africa (1971-72). Joint Matriculation Board Certificate, Oshigambo High School (1965-69). | ||||
| Career: | ||||
| Chairperson of the Public Service Commission since 2006. Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo and Gabon - based in Kinshasa, DRC - since 2000. Ambassador to Ethiopia, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (1996-2000). Secretary to Cabinet (1994-1996). Permanent Secretary/Secretary in the Office of the President (1990-94). Liaison Officer in the Swapo Election Directorate (1989). Swapo Chief Representative to France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy and Switzerland, based in Paris (1985-89). Swapo Chief Representative to West Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal (1981-85). Broadcaster with Voice of Namibia, based in Brazzaville, Congo, where he also represented Swapo (1976-80). Clerk in the Department of Bantu Education at Ondangwa (1970-71). Cattle herder (early 1950s). | ||||
| Contact: | ||||
| Public Service Commission, PO Box 1117, Windhoek; tel: (061) 287 3911 | ||||
