Yvonne Dausab


Yvonne Dausab is a Namibian cabinet minister, responsible for the Ministry of Justice. She was appointed to the position on March 22, 2020, replacing Sacky Shanghala.
Prior to her appointment to cabinet, Dausab was the chairperson of Namibia's Law Reform and Development Commission from 2015 to 2020. She has worked as a human rights lawyer and university lecturer in the past.

Early life and career

Dausab grew up in Katutura, Namibia under South West Africa apartheid rule. She completed A Shipena Secondary School as the head girl. Dausab completed secondary school not long after Namibia's independence, and went on to study a BA in Law and LLB at the University of the Western Cape and a LLM with a specialization in Human Rights and African Democratisation at the University of Pretoria thanks to various scholarships.
Dausab was admitted as a legal practitioner of the High Court of Namibia in April 2000 at the age of 25. She then worked in human rights at an African NGO based in Lusaka, Zambia for five years before returning to Namibian and joining a private law practice. In 2007, Dausab joined the University of Namibia as a part-time law lecturer. In 2009, she received a faculty position and was later appointed the deputy dean. She left academia in 2015, when she was appointed the chairperson of the Law Reform and Development Commission.

Political career

Dausab was appointed the chairperson of Namibia's Law Reform and Development Commission in 2015 by Namibian president Hage Geingob.
In March 2020, she was appointed Namibia's Minister of Justice.