Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah (born 13 December 1952 in Ohangwena Region

Ohangwena Region

Ohangwena is one of the thirteen regions of Namibia. The northern and western parts of the region are the most densely populated of this essentially subsistence agricultural region in which small scale mahangu cultivation and the keeping of cattle form the predominant activities...

) is a Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

n diplomat and military commander. He is the chief of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) since 24 January 2011.

Ndaitwah joined SWAPO's military wing, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia

People's Liberation Army of Namibia

The People's Liberation Army of Namibia was the active military wing of the South West Africa People's Organization during the Namibian War of Independence. It sought independence for the territory from South African rule. PLAN launched its first attack on the South African military at...

 (PLAN) in 1974 and participated in Namibia's struggle for independence in various positions. He attended military training in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Nigeria, Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

 and Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. At Namibias independence in 1990 he became the first military assistant to the Chief of the Defence Force, Dimo Hamaambo

Dimo Hamaambo

Mweukefina Kulaumone Jerobeam Dimo Hamaambo was a Namibian military commander in both the Namibian War of Independence as a SWAPO member and in independent Namibia as a high level commander in the Namibia Defence Force....

. He held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 at that time. He became Deputy Commander of the Armyin 1997. Until 2006 Ndaitwah served as Chargé d’affaires of Namibia to the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was promoted to Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 in 2008, and to Lieutenant General in 2011 at the occasion of his appointment as Chief of the Namibian Defence force, succeeding Martin Shalli

Martin Shalli

Lieutenant General Martin Shalli is a former Namibian diplomat and military commander. In 2005, he was appointed to the post of High Commissioner of Namibia to Zambia by then President Sam Nujoma but was recalled in October 2006 by his successor, Hifikepunye Pohamba and appointed Chief of the...

.

In 2007, Ndaitwah graduated with a Masters degree in Strategic Studies from University of Ibadan

University of Ibadan

The University of Ibadan is the oldest Nigerian university, and is located five miles from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in Western Nigeria...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. He is a student of Public Management at the Polytechnic of Namibia

Polytechnic of Namibia

The Polytechnic of Namibia, locally also known as Poly or Polytechnic, is an institute of tertiary education in Windhoek, Namibia. It has been established by Act 33 / 1994 of the Namibian Parliament.-History:...

.

Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah is married to Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Nandi-Ndaitwah is the Minister of Environment and Tourism since March 2010 and a long-time member of the National Assembly of Namibia....

, Namibian Minister of Environment and Tourism.