Henning Melber
NAI Associate
You can reach our researchers at nai@nai.uu.se
Henning Melber is a trained journalist and studied Political Sciences and Sociology at the Freie Universität Berlin. He obtained a PhD in African Studies and a Habilitation (post-doctoral German degree) in Development Studies at Bremen University.
Research
Henning Melber focuses on policy matters mainly in Namibia and South Africa, and on governance by former liberation movements. He engaged with Dag Hammarskjöld and the decolonization of Africa, the role and nature of African middle classes and the decolonization of knowledge production. He did archival research on the Windhoek Old Location and is exploring German colonialism and present memory politics in Germany, especially regarding the genocide committed in German South West Africa.
Current positions and affiliations
- Director emeritus/Senior Advisor Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation
- Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria
- Extraordinary Professor, Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein
- Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Commonwealth Studies/School for Advanced Study, University of London
- President of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institute (EADI) from 2017 to 2023
Background
Henning Melber came to Namibia as a son of immigrants in 1967, where he joined SWAPO in 1974. He was associated with the Max Plack Institute for Human Development in West-Berlin (1978-1982), a Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Kassel (1982-1992), Director of The Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) in Windhoek (1992-2000), Research Director of the Nordic Africa Institute (2000-2006) and Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation (2006-2012).
