South West Africa was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1966, and under South African occupation from 1966 to 1990. Renamed Namibia by the United Nations in 1968, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990.
Gaob Dr. Justus ǀUruhe ǁGaroëb is the Gaob (King) of the ǂNūkhoe ǁAes as of 1977 [year of customary designation] and is the longest serving supreme traditional leader in recorded history. Historical accounts have it that most gaogu (kings) reigned for 25 years (average), whilst the nation celebrated the Sapphire Anniversary of the ǁGaroëb dynasty. He (just like most if not all pre-independence traditional leaders was active in national politics and was at the forefront of the Namibian struggle for Independence. Gaob Dr. ǁGaroëb was a staunch opponent of South African rule and led the oppositional Namibia National Front in the late 1970s and founded the United Democratic Front in 1989.
Katuutire Kaura was a Namibian politician. He was president of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) from 1998 to 2013 and was the official leader of the opposition from 2000 to 2005.
The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front, it formed the official opposition in Parliament until the parliamentary elections in 2009. The party currently holds 16 seats in the Namibian National Assembly and one seat in the Namibian National Council and is the official opposition. McHenry Venaani is president of the PDM.
Dirk Frederik Mudge was a Namibian politician. He served in several high-ranking positions in the South African administration of South West Africa, was the chairman of the 1975–1977 Turnhalle Constitutional Conference, and co-founded the Republican Party (RP) of Namibia as well as the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), now known as the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM).
Tsudao Immanuel Gurirab is a Namibian politician. A member of Congress of Democrats (CoD), Gurirab was previously a member of the ruling South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) until he alongside Ben Ulenga, Ignatius Shixwameni and others left SWAPO to form CoD in 1999. He was also a member of the Pan-African Parliament and the only non-SWAPO member selected from Namibia. In 2007, Gurirab was elected chairperson of the party.
Oshakati is a town in northern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Oshana Region and one of Namibia's largest cities both by population and as an economic center.
Jerry Lukiiko Ekandjo is a Namibian politician, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He is one of the founding members of the SWAPO Youth League and has been one of the most active internal leading members of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) during the liberation struggle. He spent eight years in prison on Robben Island after being charged for inciting violence in 1973.
Munjuku Nguvauva II was a Namibian traditional paramount chief and leader of the Ovambanderu people, a subtribe of the Herero. Nguvauva was also deputy chief of Namibia's Traditional Leaders Council.
Fanuel Jariretundu Kozonguizi was a Namibian lawyer and politician. He served as permanent petitioner to the United Nations on the issue of Namibian independence, and was a high-ranking administrator in South-West Africa prior to Namibian independence, both under South African administration and in the Transitional Government. In independent Namibia he was a member of Parliament and ombudsman. Kozonguizi was a founding member and first president of the South West African National Union.
Clemens Kapuuo was a Namibian school teacher, shopkeeper, president of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), now called Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), and chief of the Herero people of Namibia. Kapuuo was one of the leading opponents of South African rule of his country until his assassination following the Turnhalle Constitutional Conference.
The Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU), was an interim government for South West Africa (Namibia) between June 1985 to February 1989.
White Namibians are people of European descent settled in Namibia. The majority of White Namibians are Dutch-descended Afrikaners, with a minority being native-born German Namibians. There are also some Portuguese and English immigrants. 53,773 Namibians identified as White in the 2023 census.
The Turnhalle Constitutional Conference was a conference held in Windhoek between 1975 and 1977, tasked with the development of a constitution for a self-governed South West Africa (Namibia) under South African control. Sponsored by the South African government, the Turnhalle Conference laid the framework for the government of South West Africa from 1977 to independence in 1989.
Chief Frans Migub ǀGoagoseb is a Namibian politician and Damara leader. He is the party leader of the Namibian Democratic Movement for Change and was the party's candidate for president in the 2009 general election. In that election, ǀGoagoseb received 1,760 votes, placing eleventh out of twelve candidates for president. Only Attie Beukes of the Communist Party of Namibia received fewer votes than ǀGoagoseb.
Parliamentary elections were held in South West Africa between 4 and 8 December 1978. These were the first elections conducted under universal adult suffrage, all previous elections had been Whites-only. The 1978 elections were won by the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, which claimed 41 of the 50 seats. The elections were conducted without United Nations (UN) supervision, and in defiance of the 1972 United Nations General Assembly's recognition of the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) as the "sole representative of Namibia's people". The UN henceforth declared the elections null and void. The resulting government, dependent on South African approval for all its legislation, was in power until its dissolution in 1983.
The Turnhalle is a building in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Built during the era of Imperial Germany's colonisation of South West Africa, it has been through a variety of uses, most prominently as the venue for the 1975–1977 Turnhalle Constitutional Conference, an attempt to quell armed resistance waged by the People's Liberation Army of Namibia against South African occupation. The Turnhalle housed the Tribunal court of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) until disbandment in 2012.
Constance Letang Kgosiemang was the paramount chief of the Tswana people in Namibia, a parliamentarian, and the leader of the Seoposengwe Party until its merger into the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA).
Mburumba Kerina was a Namibian politician and academic. He was a co-founder of SWAPO, NUDO, and FCN, and the founder of a host of smaller political parties. For independent Namibia, he was a member of Namibia's Constituent Assembly, as well as the National Assembly and the National Council. Kerina coined the name "Namib" for the independent state "Namibia" on the territory of South West Africa.
David Enghali Sheehama was a prominent Namibian businessman and philanthropist. Owning several successful business enterprises in Namibia's northern Omusati region, he is considered a pioneer for trading businesses in the region.
