New Permanent Representative of Namibia Presents Credentials

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)

The new Permanent Representative of Namibia to the United Nations, Neville Melvin Gertze, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Before his latest appointment, Mr. Gertze was Chief of Protocol in his country’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, having previously been Ambassador to Germany, the Holy See, Poland and Turkey in a period extending from 2009 to 2015.  In 2008, he was appointed non-resident Ambassador to the Philippines and Thailand.

Between 2003 and 2008, Mr. Gertze served as Namibia’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, prior to which he was Commercial Counsellor to South Africa from 1997 to 2003.  He also saw service as Personal Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (1995-1997), First Secretary at the Embassy of Washington, D.C., from 1991 to 1995, and Desk Officer for Asia and the Pacific in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital, in 1990.

Holding degrees from institutions in South Africa, Mr. Gertze has a bachelor’s degree in public administration and political science from the University of Cape Town and a master’s degree in business administration from Midrand Graduate Institute in Johannesburg.

Born on 5 August 1966, he is married and has two children.