The executive director in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, has retired this week from her position and the public service.
She served as an accounting officer of the ministry for the past seven years.
As executive director, Namibia successfully chaired both SADC and the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, where she served as the chairperson of senior officials’ meetings and distinguishably handled complicated regional integration issues with distinction.
Ashipala-Musavyi is also the current chair of the board of the United Nations secretary general advisory board on disarmament matters.
Her deputy Rebecca Iyambo will be acting as executive director until Ashipala-Musavyi’s replacement.
Speaking at a farewell ceremony held at the ministry on Tuesday, deputy prime minister and minister of International Relations and Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah described Ashipala-Musavyi as a consummate diplomat who has a shining chapter in the history of Namibia.
Ambassador Ashipala-Musavyi joined the ministry in 1990 and spent 30 years formulating, implementing, and promoting and defending Namibia’s foreign policy.
Ashipala-Musavyi was appointed deputy director in the ministry in 1990 upon completion of a diplomatic training course.
Due to her exceptional skills, she was among the first staff members to be posted to the permanent mission of Namibia to the United Nations.
She was soon promoted to under-secretary multilateral affairs to strengthen the headquarters, followed by an appointment as ambassador to Austria and concurrently accredited to some eastern European countries, while serving as the permanent representative of Namibia to all international organisations based in Vienna.
Subsequently, she was appointed as high commissioner of Namibia to Nigeria, covering the whole west Africa region, including the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
In June 2013, Ashipala-Musavyi was appointed the first woman permanent secretary in the then foreign affairs ministry.
Among her notable accomplishments, she was instrumental in the review of Namibia’s White Paper on Foreign Policy Management and Economic Diplomacy and the crafting of Namibia’s Policy on International Relations and Cooperation, the implementation of the Posting Policy, the review of the Manual of Operations of the Ministry, the Protocol Manual and the operationalisation of the Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab lectures.
– anakale@nepc.com.na