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.
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.
Theo-Ben Gurirab was a Namibian politician who served in various senior government positions. He served as the second Prime Minister of Namibia from 28 August 2002 to 20 March 2005,following the demotion and subsequent resignation of Hage Geingob. Previously he was the country's first Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 2002,and was President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1999 to 2000. He was Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia from 2005 to 2015,when he was replaced by Peter Katjavivi. Gurirab ultimately resigned from politics in 2015.
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 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.
Benjamin Ulenga is a Namibian trade unionist,politician,and diplomat. 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.
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.
The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST),formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia,is a public university located in the city of Windhoek,Namibia. Andrew Niikondo is its acting vice-chancellor. NUST was headed by the founding vice-chancellor Tjama Tjivikua until March 2019. After two acting appointments,Erold Naomab was appointed vice-chancellor in January 2021. The largely ceremonial role of chancellor of the university is held by Peter Katjavivi.
Heroes' Acre is an official war memorial of the Republic of Namibia. Built into the uninhabited hills 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of the city centre of Windhoek,Heroes' Acre opened on 26 August 2002. It was created to "foster a spirit of patriotism and nationalism,and to pass [this] to the future generations of Namibia".
Nora Schimming-Chase was a Namibian politician and Namibia's first ambassador to Germany from 1992 to 1996. After changing her party membership from South West Africa National Union (SWANU) to Congress of Democrats (CoD),Schimming-Chase became a member of the National Assembly of Namibia from 2000 to 2010.
Elia George Kaiyamo is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO,Kaiyamo was an internal organizer and teacher for SWAPO prior to independence. He served in the Cabinet of Namibia as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration from 2010 to 2015. On 2 September 2016,President Hage Geingob appointed Kaiyamo as Ambassador-designate to the People's Republic of China.
Erastus Amutenya Uutoni is a Namibian SWAPO politician who has served in the cabinet of Namibia since March 2010.
Tjama Tjivikua is a Namibian academic and businessman. He was the Rector of the Polytechnic of Namibia in Windhoek since its inception in 1995. When the institution was renamed into Namibia University of Science and Technology in 2015,Tjivikua continued to lead it,now in the position of vice-chancellor,until March 2019.
Monica Nashandi is a Namibian diplomat and politician. Nashandi was Namibia's ambassador to Scandinavian countries as well as the former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Nashandi was removed from the SWAPO list for the 2009 general election because she had not registered to vote,a requirement under Namibian law. Nashandi was Namibia's ambassador to the United States of America from 2019 to 2020.
Nikolaus Onverwag 'Niko' Bessinger was a Namibian politician and independence activist.
Hadino Timothy Hishongwa was a Namibian politician,diplomat,parliamentarian,and a founding member of SWAPO.
Jafet Penda Ya Ndakolo is a Namibian SWAPO politician and current governor of Oshikoto Region. He served as Minister of Defence from 2015 to 2020. After losing his position as minister in 2020 he was appointed to his old position as governor again.
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.
Mukwanangombe Auguste Mukwahepo Immanuel affectionately known as Meekulu Mukwahepo,was a Namibian guerrilla,notable for being the first woman recruit of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia. Mukwahepo committed her life looking after children during the South African Border War,moving from one camp to another whenever the need arose.
