Peter Vilho

Last updated

Rear Admiral
Peter Vilho
Minister of Defense
In office
21 March 2020 –6 April 2021
Military service
AllegianceFlag of Namibia.svg  Namibia
Branch/servicePLAN(1981-1990)
Namibian Army(1990-1999)
Namibian Navy(1999-2017)
Years of service1981-2017
Rank 14-Namibia Navy-RADM.svg Rear Admiral
Battles/wars Namibian War of Independence

Peter Hafeni Vilho (born 2 February 1962) is a Namibian politician and retired rear admiral who is a member of the Parliament of Namibia, a former Minister of Defence, and a former commander of the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the commander of the maritime wing of the Namibian Defence Force in 2002. In September 2017 he was appointed as executive director of the Ministry of Defence. In March 2020, Namibian president Hage Geingob appointed Vilho as the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs. Vilho served until his resignation in April 2021 after allegations of holding an undeclared bank account.

Contents

Career

Vilho joined SWAPO in exile in 1977 as a 15-year-old teenager. In 1981 he then joined the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). After joining PLAN in 1981 for basic training he specialised as a combat engineer in 1982, by 1983 Vilho was an engineering instructor at the Tobias Hainyeko Training Centre, Lubango, Angola. In 1984 he was appointed as an engineer company commander and anti-tank battery commander at the Northern Front and Striking Unit. [1]

Vilho's career in the Namibian Defence Force started in 1990 after Namibia's independence when he was inducted with the rank of Captain and appointed as paymaster for the 125 Battalion in the Namibian Army. In 1993, he was promoted to the rank of Major and appointed as the chief paymaster for the army headquarters. Later in the year, he was appointed staff officer grade 2 (SO2) operations and training army headquarters with the same rank. Between 1994 and 1998 he attended the Admiral Wandenkolk Instruction Centre (CIAW) in Rio de Janeiro. [1] Upon graduating he was appointed as the chief of staff NDF Maritime Wing in 1998 and promoted to the rank of Commander. In 2001 he was appointed as the deputy commander NDF Maritime Wing, and in the following year following the death of Captain (Navy) Phestus Sakaria the Commander NDF Maritime Wing, Vilho was appointed as his successor with the rank of Naval Captain. The rank of Commodore was bestowed on him in 2004 at the commissioning of the Maritime Wing as a fully-fledged navy. In 2007 he ascended to the rank of Rear Admiral. [1]

Vilho studied for an Advanced Course and Resource Management Course at Fort Benning from 1990 to 1992 as a Finance Officer, and in 1994 attended the Junior Staff and Command Course, Namibia. He attended the Naval Officers Formation Course in Brazil between 1995 and 1998 followed by an Advanced Course on Politics and Strategy at the National War College, Brazil. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.

Honours and decorations

Vilho retired from active military service in September 2017 and was appointed as Executive Director of the Ministry of Defence. On 21 March 2020 president Hage Geingob appointed him as Minister of Defence succeeding Penda ya Ndakolo. [3] With this appointment he also became a non voting member of parliament. On 6 April 2021 Vilho resigned due to allegations of holding an undeclared bank account in Hong Kong that is "linked to illicit proceeds". [4] The resignation triggered a cabinet reshuffle in which Vilho was succeeded by Frans Kapofi. [5]

Military offices
Preceded by
Vacant
 Namibian Navy Commander
2004 –2017		Succeeded by
Preceded by Namibian Defence Force Maritime Wing Commander
2002 –2004		Succeeded by
Abolished

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namibian Defence Force</span> Combined military forces of Namibia

The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Namibia establishes the NDF and defines its role and purpose as, " ... to defend the territory and national interests of Namibia".

Major General Charles Dickson Ndaxu Phillip Namoloh is a Namibian diplomat, politician and military figure who served in the cabinet of Namibia as Minister of Safety and Security from March 2015 to March 2020. Namoloh has been a member of the National Assembly of Namibia since 2005; having served as Minister of Defence from 2005 to 2012 and Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development from 2012 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erkki Nghimtina</span> Namibian politician and former military officer

Erkki Nghimtina is a Namibian politician and former military officer in the Namibia Defence Force (NDF). A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Nghimtina served as member of the National Assembly of Namibia from 1995 to 2020. He served in various cabinet roles from 2005 to 2020.

Albert Kawana is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Kawana has been a member of the National Assembly and cabinet since 2000, serving in various positions. Since April 2021 he is minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security. A lawyer by training, Kawana led Namibia's legal team in the Kasikili Island dispute, which was argued before the International Court of Justice.

The Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MODVA) is the government department responsible for the administration of military affairs and veterans affairs in Namibia. It was established as Ministry of Defence (MOD) at Namibian independence in 1990. In 2020 the portfolio of veteran affairs was added to defence after the Ministry of Veteran Affairs had been dissolved in 2015. The first Namibian defence minister was Peter Mweshihange, the current Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs is Frans Kapofi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Namibia</span> Namibian institution

The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include the following positions: the President of Namibia, the Prime Minister of Namibia and any positions that the President so appoints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refiloe Johannes Mudimu</span> South African Navy Admiral

Vice Admiral Refiloe Mudimu is a former South African military commander, who served as the Chief of the Navy before his retirement in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namibian Navy</span> Military force established 2004

The Namibian Navy is the maritime warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force.

Lieutenant General John Sinvula Mutwa was a Namibian military officer whose last appointment was as chief of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF). He was appointed the commander of the Namibian Army in 2011, and NDF Chief on 31 December 2013, a position from which he retired on 31 March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bubele Mhlana</span> South African naval officer

Rear Admiral Bubele Kitie Mhlana is the current serving Deputy Chief of the South African Navy, he was also the longest serving Flag Officer Fleet. He has had numerous Commands of South African warships including being the first black South African naval Officer to Command a Valour-class Frigate, the SAS ISANDLWANA F146, then later SAS MENDI F148.

Rear Admiral(ret) Robert William Higgs is a former-South African Navy officer, who served as Chief of Naval Staff from 1 November 2010 to 31 August 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Trojahn</span>

Rear Admiral Frank Trojahn is a Danish naval officer.

Rear Admiral Sinsy Ndeshi Bamba Nghipandua is a retired Namibian military officer whose last appointment served was as the Commander of the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the Commander of the Namibian Navy in 2017. Prior to that he served as Commander of Naval Operations with the rank of Rear Admiral.

Martin Kambulu Pinehas is a Namibian military officer who is serving as the Chief of the Defence Force, he previously served as commander of the Namibian Air Force. He was appointed the commander of the Air Wing of the Namibian Defence Force in 2000. He has over 3700 flight hours of experience, including 700 as an instructor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frans Kapofi</span> Namibian politician

Frans Kapofi is a Namibian politician who since 1999 has served in various positions in cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namibia Command and Staff College</span>

The Namibia Command and Staff College is an academic tri service college of the Namibian Defence Force. The college offers officers staff training and education.

Captain_(Naval) Phestus Nopoudjuu Sacharia was a Namibian military officer who is served as the Commander of the Namibian Defence Force Maritime Wing the forerunner to the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the Commander of the Maritime Wing in 1998.

The Naval Training School is the main training institution of the Namibian Navy. It was created in 2009, and is located at the Wilbard Tashiya Nakada Military Base, Walvis Bay.

Rear Admiral Alweendo Paulus Amungulu is a Namibian military officer who's serving as the Commander of the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the Commander of the Namibian Navy in September 2020. Prior to that he served as Commander of Naval Operations(CNO) with the rank of Rear Admiral(JG).

Brigadier General Bernard Nkawa was a Namibian military officer whose last appointment was as Defence Attaché to DRC.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Permanent Secretary". Ministry of Defence of the Government of Namibia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MODVA)" (pdf). Ministry of Defence of the Government of Namibia . Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Terblanché, Niël (22 March 2020). "Central bank Governor appointed finance minister". Informanté. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Immanuel, Shinovene (6 April 2021). "Defence minister resigns". The Namibian .
  5. ↑ Tjitemisa, Kuzeeko (22 April 2020). "Geingob shuffles his pack … Kapofi gets defence, Klazen promoted". New Era . p. 1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.