Leon Jooste 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 politician and businessperson. A member of SWAPO, he was appointed to replace Gerhard Tötemeyer

Gerhard Tötemeyer

Gerhard Karl Hans Tötemeyer is a professor emeritus and retired Namibian politician.He was born in Gibeon, and spent the first four years of his life in Keetmanshoop, where his father worked as a missionary. When World War II broke out in September 1939, his family was on vacation in Germany,...

 in the National Assembly of Namibia

National Assembly of Namibia

The National Assembly of Namibia is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It has a total of 78 members. 72 members are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms. Six additional members are appointed by the President.The...

. In 2005, he was elected on the SWAPO Party list and appointed as the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism in Hifikepunye Pohamba

Hifikepunye Pohamba

Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba is the second and current President of Namibia. He won the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections overwhelmingly as the candidate of the South West Africa People's Organisation ruling party, taking office in March 2005. He has also been the President of SWAPO since...

's first cabinet. Jooste is a White Namibian with experience in tourism

Tourism in Namibia

Tourism in Namibia is a major industry, contributing N$7,2 billion to the country's gross domestic product. Annually, nearly one million travelers visit Namibia, with roughly one in three coming from South Africa, then Germany and finally the United Kingdom, Italy and France...

.

Education

Jooste graduated from Paul Roos Gymnasium

Paul Roos Gymnasium

Paul Roos Gymnasium is a government school for boys in the town of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, founded in 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium....

 and later from Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape....

, Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, in 1991, with a BA in archaeology.