Bernhardt Esau

Bernhardt Esau (born 9 December 1957 in Swakopmund) is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization, Esau has been a member of the National Assembly since being chosen by President Sam Nujoma in 1995. He has also been the Deputy Ministry of Trade and Industry since 1999.

Career

Esau was born in Swakopmund, Erongo Region on 9 December 1957. He earned his matric at St. Josephs Training College in Dobra in 1977 and graduated from the University of Fort Hare in 1984. Esau rose through the Mineworkers Union of Namibia to become secretary general of the umbrella National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) in 1991. In 1992, during a time of debate concerning the role of Namibia's trade unions, Esau favored maintaining an alliance with SWAPO. However, Esau later in 1994 suggested that the trade unions could form their own political party if worker's rights continued to be ignored by the SWAPO government. In the same year, the Swakopmund native was placed on the National Assembly list for SWAPO and was voted into the National Assembly in elections the next year. Esau was a member of the politburo of SWAPO from 1991-1997 and the Central Committee of his party since 1991. As Deputy Minister, Esau had to support liberal economic policies, including the setting up of export processing zones in Namibia where labour laws do not apply.^[1]

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