H.E. Anne Namakau Mutelo
H.E. Anne Namakau Mutelo, is the Ambassador-Designate of the Republic of Namibia to the Philippines and also the Ambassador of the Republic of Namibia to Malaysia and non-resident Ambassador to Indonesia, Thailand, Timor Leste, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Pacific Islands Forum.
Ambassador Mutelo was previously the Ambassador of Namibia to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, (the African Political and Diplomatic Capital City), and the Sudan as well as the Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. While in Addis Ababa, the Ambassador represented Namibia on the Peace and Security Council of the African Union from 2014-2015. She represented Namibia and Southern Africa on the Executive Council Contact Group on the International Criminal Court that met with the United Nations Security Council to request it to intervene in the case against both the President and Vice President of Kenya. She also represented Namibia on the African Union High Level Committee on the Post 2015 Development Agenda and the Committee of Ten on United Nations Reform.
Ambassador Mutelo has attended all the African Union Summits of Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa and outside the Headquarters since 2012 up to 2015. She attended numerous meetings and retreats of both the Permanent Representatives Committee and the Peace and Security Council held outside Addis Ababa, including the PSC Retreat with the Regional Economic Communities held in Swakopmund, Namibia (May 2015), Abuja, Nigeria (September 2015), field trip to the Darfur Region of Sudan (August 2015) and the Annual Retreat of AU Special Representatives and Envoys in Windhoek (October 2015).
While serving on the Peace and Security Council, Ambassador Mutelo co-lead and co-chaired the African delegation to the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and European Union Political and Security Committee (EUPSC) Joint Field Mission to Mali that was undertaken in February 2015.
Ambassador Mutelo also chaired the Peace and Security Council in March 2015, and she subsequently co-chaired the Annual Joint Consultative Meeting held between the AUPSC and the UNSC on 12 March 2015, at the Headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa. During Namibia’s Chairmanship of the Peace and Security Council, the agenda item on the decolonization of Western Sahara was brought to the fore with the adoption of a very strong Communique that was sent to the United Nations Security Council for it to implement the numerous resolutions on the holding of a referendum on the people of Western Sahara to determine their future.
Ambassador Mutelo has served as a career diplomat in her country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the past 26 years. She completed both her primary and secondary education in neighbouring Zambia, completing high school in 1977 at Kalonga Secondary School in Kabwe. Ambassador Mutelo holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Fort Hare in South Africa, the alma mater of many prominent African leaders such as the late Nelson Mandela.
Ambassador Mutelo also holds a post-graduate diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta and DiploFoundation, as well as a certificate in Multilateral Diplomacy from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.
Ambassador Mutelo served a short stint as Second Secretary at the Namibia High Commission in London in 1991, as Deputy Ambassador at the Namibia High Commission in Botswana from 1995-1999, as First Secretary (Political) in South Africa from 1999-2000, as First Secretary at the Namibia Embassy in Ethiopia and Permanent Mission to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa from 2005-2007, as well as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Namibia to the United Nations in New York from 2010-2012.
She was the Desk Officer for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Namibia from 1991-1995. She attended several SADC Summits as well as SADC-EU Conferences over the same period. She also served as the Desk Officer for Social and Humanitarian Affairs in the United Nations Division of the Department of Multilateral Affairs from 2001-2004 and briefly as Commonwealth Desk Officer from 2003-2004.
While serving in the United Nations Division, Ambassador Mutelo represented the Namibian Government as a delegate to the Third Committee Sessions of the United Nations General Assembly in 1992, 2001 and 2004. She served on the SADC/EU Joint Steering Committee of the Berlin Initiative of SADC-EU Cooperation and formed part of the Namibian Government’s delegations to the SADC/EU Ministerial Conferences in Madrid, Spain, (1995) and Vienna, Austria (1998).
Ambassador Mutelo was the Deputy Director responsible for Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa in the Department of Bilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2009 and was responsible for the promotion and strengthening of bilateral relations between Namibia and the Sub-Saharan Africa and European countries under her responsibility.
Ambassador Mutelo was born in the north-eastern Zambezi (formerly Caprivi) Region of Namibia. She is happily married to Mr Rector Muchimamui Mutelo and they have 3 adult children.