Pendukeni "Penny" Iivula-Ithana was born on 11 October 1952 and is a Namibian politician who served as the secretary general of SWAPO, Namibia's ruling party, from 2007 to 2012.
14 Facts About Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia in 1989 and has been a member of Parliament and member of cabinet since independence in 1990.
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was active in the SWAPO Youth League and the SWAPO Women's Council whose Secretary she became in 1980.
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was deputy Minister of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism from 1990 to 1991, Minister of Youth and Sport from 1991 to 1996, and Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation from 1996 to 2001.
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was moved from the latter position to that of attorney general on January 26,2001.
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At SWAPO's August 2002 congress, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana placed 23rd in the election for the Central Committee, receiving 310 votes.
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was elected as secretary general of SWAPO at the party's November 2007 congress, becoming the first woman to hold that position.
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was one possible contender for SWAPO's presidential candidacy, a position determined at the end of the 2012 party congress.
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana lost to Hage Geingob and runner-up Jerry Ekandjo, coming third by a margin.
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In late August 2014, when SWAPO chose its list of parliamentary candidates for the November 2014 general election, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana only managed to obtain the 86th spot on the list, a poor performance that made it seem unlikely that she would be elected to the National Assembly.
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When Geingob took office in March 2015, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was retained in her post as Minister of Home Affairs.
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was dismissed from her minister position on 1 February 2018, along with fellow critic and minister Jerry Ekandjo.
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Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana lost her positions on SWAPO's central committee and politburo, commenting in 2022:.
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When Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana became secretary general of SWAPO it was decided that this post would become a full-time salaried position.