2009 in Namibia

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2009
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Namibia

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2009 in Namibia refers to the events which occurred and will occur in the year of 2009 in the Republic of Namibia.

Contents

Incumbents

Disasters

President Hifikepunye Pohamba declared a state of emergency in much of Northern Namibia on 19 March following the deaths of 90 people due to flooding. The flooding was considered some of the worst in memory and food shortages were possible. Thousands were displaced. [1]

An oil spill occurred off the coast of Lüderitz in the Atlantic Ocean in April.

Economics

In January, the International Monetary Fund predicted economic growth would drop by 50% in 2009, from 4% to 2% due to the global recession. [2] Projections were cut again in March, down to 1.2% growth, according to Minister of Finance Saara Kuugongelwa. This was credited to a decrease in mining activities across the country. [3]

Politics

Independence celebrations

President Pohamba and other members of the ruling SWAPO party led celebrations in Keetmanshoop, ǁKaras Region on 21 March 2009. 21 March marked the 19th year of independence.

Election

The 2009 general election will take place in November. Namibians outside of the country will be able to vote on 13 November, while the election dates inside of the country will 27–28 November. [4] Two candidates, current President Hifikepunye Pohamba of the SWAPO party and former cabinet minister Hidipo Hamutenya of the Rally for Democracy and Progress were confirmed by their party's as candidates for president for the election while other parties were expected to announce their candidates later in the year.

Sport

Boxing

On 2 January, boxer Paulus Moses beat Yusuke Kobori of Japan to win the World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight title. [5]

Cricket

In March, the Namibia national cricket team lost twice to Zimbabwe at Wanderers Stadium in South Africa. [6]

Extreme sports

In May, 4 Deserts will host RacingThePlanet: Namibia 2009, which is a 7-day, 6 stage footrace between Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz in ǁKaras Region, southern Namibia. [7]

Rugby

The Namibia national rugby union team qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup by sweeping matches against Tunisia. [8]

Football

The Namibia national football team, also known as the Brave Warriors, played in Beirut against Lebanon on 1 April and in Luanda against Angola on 4 April in the seventh annual peace celebrations, which marked the end of the Angolan Civil War. [9]

The Namibian Newspaper Cup was held from 10 to 13 April at Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, Windhoek. [10]

Deaths

Related Research Articles

The history of Namibia has passed through several distinct stages from being colonised in the late nineteenth century to Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990.

SWAPO Political party in Namibia

The South West Africa People’s Organisation, officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia. Founded in 1960, it has been the governing party in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by the Ovambo ethnic group.

Sam Nujoma President of Namibia from 1990 to 2005

Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first president of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in 1960. Prior to 1960, SWAPO was known as the Ovambo People's Organisation (OPO). He played an important role as leader of the national liberation movement in campaigning for Namibia's political independence from South African rule. He established the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) in 1962 and launched a guerrilla war against the apartheid government of South Africa in August 1966 at Omungulugwombashe, beginning after the United Nations withdrew the mandate for South Africa to govern the territory. Nujoma led SWAPO during the lengthy Namibian War of Independence, which lasted from 1966 to 1989.

ǁKaras Region Region in Namibia

The ǁKaras Region is the southernmost, largest, and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain range in its southern part. The ǁKaras region contains the municipality of Keetmanshoop, the towns Karasburg, Lüderitz and Oranjemund, and the self-governed villages Aroab, Berseba, Bethanie, Koës and Tses.

ǃNamiǂNûs Constituency Electoral constituency in the ǁKaras region of southern Namibia

ǃNamiǂNûs, is an electoral constituency in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. It contains the major town of Lüderitz, after which the constituency was originally named. In 2011, it had a population of 13,859, down from 14,542 in 2001. As of 2020 the constituency had 9,670 registered voters.

Hidipo Livius Hamutenya was a Namibian politician. A long time leading member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Hamutenya was a member of the Cabinet of Namibia from independence in 1990 to 2004, serving in several important ministerial portfolios. He was defeated in a bid for the party's presidential nomination in 2004 and left SWAPO to form an opposition group, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), in 2007. He was elected to the National Assembly of Namibia with RDP in the 2009 general election. He was forced to step down as RDP president on 28 February 2015 and rejoined SWAPO on 28 August 2015.

Hifikepunye Pohamba President of Namibia from 2005 to 2015

Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was reelected in 2009. Pohamba was the president of SWAPO from 2007 until his retirement in 2015. He is a recipient of the Ibrahim Prize.

Nahas Angula Third Prime Minister of Namibia

Nahas Gideon Angula (born 22 August 1943 is a Namibian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 4 December 2012. He was succeeded by Hage Geingob in a cabinet reshuffle after the 2012 SWAPO Party congress. He subsequently served as Minister of Defence from 2012 to 2015.

Hage Geingob President of Namibia since 2015

Hage Gottfried Geingob is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 2012 to 2015. Between 2008 and 2012 Geingob served as Minister of Trade and Industry. He is also the current president of the ruling SWAPO Party since his election to the position in November 2017.

Benjamin Ulenga is a Namibian politician. In the 1990s, he served under the SWAPO government as a deputy minister and as an ambassador, but he left SWAPO in 1998 and founded an opposition party, the Congress of Democrats (CoD), in 1999. He was a member of the National Assembly of Namibia from 2000 to 2015 and led the CoD until 2015.

Gibeon is a village in Gibeon Constituency in the Hardap Region of Namibia.

Ngarikutuke Ernest Tjiriange was a Namibian politician, a member of the National Assembly and former secretary-general of the ruling SWAPO Party. He also served in the Namibian cabinet from 1990 to 2010, first as Minister of Justice, then without portfolio, and then as Minister of Veteran Affairs.

Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana is a Namibian politician who served as the secretary general of SWAPO, Namibia's ruling party, from 2007 to 2012. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia in 1989 and has been a member of Parliament and member of cabinet since independence in 1990.

2009 Namibian general election

General elections were held in Namibia on 27–28 November 2009. They were the fourth general elections since independence and the fifth democratic elections. Voting ended on 28 November and official election results, released on 4 December, showed that Hifikepunye Pohamba and his SWAPO Party were re-elected, each with over 75% of the vote. Prior to the election, the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) was widely expected to score a landslide victory, with the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) considered SWAPO's biggest challenger. Fourteen political parties competed for seats in the National Assembly of Namibia, and twelve candidates ran for the Presidency.

The following lists events that happened during 2008 in Namibia.

Henry Isak Amalovu Katali is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Katali worked as an educator, both as a teacher and in administration around Ondangwa from 1987 to 2000. From 1990 to 1995, Katali worked as the regional secretary for the Namibia National Teachers Union (NANTU). In 2000, he was selected by President Sam Nujoma as one of six non-voting member to the National Assembly of Namibia. He was chosen by Nujoma as the Deputy Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation. He was elected on the SWAPO party list in 2004 and subsequently re-appointed to the cabinet of Hifikepunye Pohamba.

Nikolaus Onverwag 'Niko' Bessinger was a Namibian politician and independence activist.

Namibia–North Korea relations Bilateral relations

Namibia–North Korea relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Namibia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Neither country maintains an embassy in their respective capitals, although DPRK formerly had one in Windhoek, which closed down in 1994.

Brazil–Namibia relations Bilateral relations

Brazil–Namibia relations refers to the diplomatic relations between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of Namibia. Both nations are members of the Group of 77 and the United Nations.

References

  1. Namibia declares flood emergency BBC News, 19 March 2009
  2. IMF says only 2% growth for Namibia in 2009 The Namibian, 8 January 2009. Accessed 2009-08-25. Archived 2009-09-11.
  3. Namibia sees 2009/10 budget deficit at 5.2 pct/GDP Retuers, 19 March 2009
  4. Election Dates Finally Announced The Namibia Economist via AllAfrica.com, 4 September 2009
  5. Namibia's Moses becomes new WBA lightweight champion Agence France-Presse, 2 January 2008
  6. Nam fall to Zimbabwe A Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine The Namibian, 16 March 2009
  7. Namibia 2009 at 4deserts.com. Accessed 2009-08-25. Archived 2009-09-11.
  8. Namibia qualifies for 2011 Rugby World Cup Sports Illustrated, 28 November 2009
  9. Saintfiet defends selection Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine The Namibian, 26 March 2009
  10. Newspaper Cup gets Sam Nujoma green light Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine The Namibian, 19 March 2009
  11. Farm couple murdered Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine The Namibian, 16 March 2009
  12. Reverend Witbooi passes Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine The Namibian, 14 October 2009
  13. Eiseb passes The Namibian , 53, 30 November 2009