Sam Nujoma

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Kovambo Mushimba
(m. 1956)
Sam Nujoma
Sam Nujoma (2004) cropped.jpg
Nujoma in 2004
1st President of Namibia
In office
21 March 1990 21 March 2005
Children Utoni Daniel (born 1952)
John Ndeshipanda (1955-1993)
Sakaria Nefungo (born 1957)
Nelago (1959–1961)
Alma mater University of Namibia
Religion Lutheran
Website www.samnujomafoundation.org

Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, [1] ( /nˈjmə/ ; born 12 May 1929) 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 Omugulugwombashe, 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.

Contents

During World War I, South Africa defeated the German colonial forces in South West Africa and established martial law in the colony after making a peace treaty in July 1915. After the war, the League of Nations officially assigned the former German colony to the United Kingdom as a mandate under the administration of South Africa. When the National Party won the 1948 election in South Africa, it passed laws establishing racial segregation known as apartheid. It applied these laws to South West Africa as well, which it governed as the de facto fifth province of South Africa.

Nujoma became involved in anti-colonial politics during the 1950s. In 1959, he cofounded and served as the first president of the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO), a nationalist organization advocating an independent Namibia. In December 1958 he was an organizer of the Old Location resistance and was arrested and deported to Ovamboland. In 1960 he escaped and went into exile in Tanzania where he was welcomed by Julius Nyerere.

Namibia finally achieved independence from South Africa in 1990, holding its first democratic elections. SWAPO won a majority and Nujoma was elected as the country's first President on 21 March 1990. He was re-elected for two more terms in 1994 and 1999. Nujoma retired as SWAPO party president on 30 November 2007.

He published his autobiography Where Others Wavered in 2005. He has received multiple honors and awards for his leadership, including the Lenin Peace Prize, Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, and the Ho Chi Minh Peace Prize. The Parliament of Namibia honored him with the titles "Founding President of the Republic of Namibia" and "Father of the Namibian Nation". In 2007 SWAPO named him as "Leader of the Namibian Revolution."

Early life

Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma was born at Etunda, a village in Ongandjera, near the town of Okahao, Ovamboland, Southwest Africa on 12 May 1929. [2] Nujoma was born to Helvi Mpingana Kondombolo (1898–2008) and Daniel Uutoni Nujoma (1893–1968).[ citation needed ] His mother Helvi was an Uukwambi princess by virtue of descent, and this fact would later reinforce Nujoma's charismatic influence during his political career. He is the eldest of his parents' eleven children.

Nujoma spent much of his early childhood looking after his siblings and tending to the family's cattle and traditional farming activities.[ citation needed ] His educational opportunities were limited. He started attending a Finnish missionary school at Okahao when he was ten and completed Standard Six, which was as high as possible for blacks during the time. In 1946, at age 17, he moved to Walvis Bay to live with his aunt, where he began his first employment at a general store for a monthly salary of 10 Shillings.[ citation needed ] He would later also work at a whaling station. While there he was exposed to world politics by meeting soldiers from Argentina, Norway and other parts of Europe who had come during World War II.[ citation needed ]

In 1949, Nujoma moved to Windhoek, where he started work as a cleaner for the South African Railways (SAR), while attending adult night school at St Barnabas Anglican Church School in the Windhoek Old Location, mainly with the aim of improving his English. He further studied for his Junior Certificate through correspondence at the Trans‐Africa Correspondence College in South Africa. [3]

Political career

Nujoma became involved in politics in the early 1950s through trade unions. Nujoma's political outlook was shaped by his work experiences, his awareness of the contract labour system, and his increasing knowledge of the independence campaigns across Africa. In 1957, at age 29, Nujoma resigned from SAR so he could devote more time to politics. In 1957, a group of Namibians working in Cape Town led by Andimba Toivo ya Toivo formed the Ovamboland People's Congress (OPC). OPC was opposed to South African policies in South West Africa including the inhumane contract labour system under which people were forced to work for meagre wages. In 1958, ya Toivo sent a petition to the United Nations (UN) to force the apartheid regime to relinquish South West Africa to the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations. Consequently, he was expelled from Cape Town to Windhoek and then to Ovamboland where he was restricted. On 19 April 1959, Nujoma and OPC cofounder Jacob Kuhangua adapted a copy of the OPC constitution and formed the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) in Windhoek. At its first congress Nujoma was elected president. During the next year he travelled Namibia in secret mobilizing and setting up branch structures of OPO. In September 1959, the South West African National Union (SWANU) was formed as an umbrella body for anti-colonial resistance groups. Nujoma joined its executive committee representing OPO.

Sam Nujoma pictured in 1979. Sam Nujoma Romcrop2.jpg
Sam Nujoma pictured in 1979.

After the Old Location Massacre on 10 December 1959, Nujoma was arrested and charged for organising the resistance and faced threats of deportation to the north of the country. By the directive of OPO leadership and in collaboration with Chief Hosea Kutako, it was decided that Nujoma join the other Namibians in exile who were lobbying the United Nations on behalf of the anti-colonial cause for Namibia. In 1960, Nujoma petitioned the UN through letters and eventually went into exile in February of that year. He left Namibia on 29 February, crossing into Bechuanaland and from there travelling to Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia by train. He flew from Bulawayo to Salisbury and on to Ndola in Northern Rhodesia. With the assistance of a member of the Northern Rhodesian United National Independence Party (UNIP) he crossed into the Katanga Province of Belgian Congo. There Nujoma met Moise Tshombe from the Conakat Party of Congolese. Crossing back over the border to Ndola he boarded a flight to Mbeya. In Mbeya, he was treated for malaria and escaped from the hospital after being threatened with arrest by the colonial authorities.[ citation needed ] From Mbeya, Nujoma travelled with the assistance of officials of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) via Njombe, Iringa and Dodoma to Dar-Es-Salaam. With the assistance of Julius Nyerere, then president of TANU, he received a passport. While in Tanganyika, he received permission to address the UN Committee on South West Africa in New York. In April 1960, Nujoma travelled from Tanganyika to Khartoum, Sudan, and from there to Accra, Ghana, where he attended the All African People's Conference organised by Kwame Nkrumah against the French atom bomb test in the Sahara Desert. Nujoma met with other African nationalist leaders such as Patrice Lumumba, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Frantz Fanon at the conference. His early encounters with other African nationalist leaders left a lasting impression and informed his Pan-African outlook. Kwame Nkrumah assisted Nujoma to travel to United States and later to Liberia, where a case on South West Africa was being presented to the International Court of Justice.

After breaking away from SWANU, OPO reconstituted itself as the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) in New York on 19 April 1960, Nujoma was elected president in absentia. He arrived in New York in June 1960 where he petitioned before the Sub Committee of the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Nujoma demanded that South West Africa be given its independence by 1963 at the latest. He then returned to Tanganyika in 1961, from where he and a small group of activists would develop SWAPO into an international force. He received support from other African nationalists and received strong backing from Julius Nyerere. Nujoma established SWAPO's Provisional headquarters in Dar es Salaam and arranged scholarships and military training for Namibians who had started to join him there. Among the first arrivals were Mzee Kaukungwa, Mosé Tjitendero and Hifikepunye Pohamba.[ citation needed ]

In 1962, SWAPO founded its armed wing, the South West African Liberation Army (SWALA), later renamed the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). Nujoma himself procured the first weapons from Algeria via Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia, from where they were taken to Omugulugwombashe in Ovamboland.[ citation needed ] On 21 March 1966, in a bid to test South Africa's claims at the International Court of Justice at the Hague that Namibians in exile were free to return and its assertion that they were in self-imposed exile, Nujoma, accompanied by Hifikepunye Pohamba, chartered a plane to Windhoek. On arrival at the airport, they were arrested and deported to Zambia the next day. On 26 August 1966 the first armed clash between SWALA and the South African security forces took place when paratroopers and police attacked SWALA combatants who had set up a camp at Omugulugwombashe. The attack would mark the beginning of the Namibian War of Independence which would last more than 25 years. In 1969, Nujoma was re-affirmed as SWAPO President at the Tanga Consultative Conference in Tanzania.

In the late 1960s Nujoma continued his diplomatic rounds as SWAPO set up offices across Africa, Europe and the Americas. He represented SWAPO at the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement on 1 September 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia as well as at the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 25 May 1963. In 1965, the OAU recognised SWAPO as the only lawful representative of the Namibian people. [4]

Gunter Sieber (right), member of the SED Central Committee and head of the International Relations Department, greets Sam Nujoma on arrival in Berlin, August 1989. Shikwetepo Haindongo, representative of SWAPO in East Germany, is at the rear left. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0818-034, Berlin, Gunter Sieber begrusst Sam Nujoma (SWAPO, Namibia).jpg
Günter Sieber (right), member of the SED Central Committee and head of the International Relations Department, greets Sam Nujoma on arrival in Berlin, August 1989. Shikwetepo Haindongo, representative of SWAPO in East Germany, is at the rear left.

In 1974, the Portuguese Empire collapsed and Namibia's border with Angola became much more susceptible to guerrilla infiltration. Nujoma recognised that this paved the way for major changes in the way the war was being fought and over the next two years SWAPO's military campaign shifted its base from Zambia to Angola. The opening of the border enabled thousands of SWAPO supporters to stream out of Namibia to join the movement in exile. Nujoma's son Utoni Nujoma and his two brothers were among those who arrived in Zambia. At the 1977 World Conference Against Apartheid in Lisbon Nujoma underlined the necessity to destroy the colonial system and institutions of the apartheid regime in Namibia in order to build those which will serve the interest of people irrespective of race, religion or origin. [5] He also warned of the danger of installation of neocolonialist marionettes who would superficially change the visible colonial regime while the position of the majority of people would stay the same. [5] In the late 1970s Nujoma led the SWAPO negotiations team between the Western Contact Group (WCG), which consisted of West Germany, Britain, France, the US and Canada, and South Africa on the one hand, and the Frontline States and Nigeria on the other, about proposals that would eventually become United Nations Security Council Resolution 435, passed in September 1978. While agreement on Resolution 435, which embodied the plan for free and fair elections in Namibia, was undoubtedly a diplomatic coup, its implementation became bogged down for another ten years. South African delaying tactics and the decision by American president Ronald Reagan's administration to link a Cuban withdrawal from Angola to Namibian independence frustrated hopes of an immediate settlement. On 19 March 1989, the signing of the cease-fire agreement with South Africa took place, which resulted in the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 435.

After 29 years in exile, Nujoma returned to Namibia in September 1989 to lead SWAPO to victory in the UN-supervised elections that paved the way for independence. Nujoma returned a day before the UN deadline for the Namibia people to register to vote for an election that would draft a constitution when it received its Independence from South Africa. [6] The Constituent Assembly, elected in November 1989, chose him as Namibia's first president. Nujoma was sworn in on 21 March 1990, in the presence of Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Secretary-General of the UN, Frederik de Klerk, president of South Africa, and Nelson Mandela, just released from prison.

President of SWAPO

External image
Searchtool.svg http://www.klausdierks.com/images/Nujoma_1960s.jpg Sam Nujoma (right) with Bishop Colin Winter and Shapua Kaukungua, 1960s. Original source: Namibia State Archive.

In 1959 Nujoma co-founded the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) and became its first president. The next year in 1960 he became the first president of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). At the time South Africa administered the land under a policy of apartheid, in which the best resources were reserved for those classified white, while other Namibians were treated as inferior. After years of asking the United Nations to ensure the occupying power South Africa released control of South West Africa, he authorised armed resistance in 1966. This began the Namibian War of Independence, which lasted 24 years. During the struggle, Nujoma took the combat name "Shafiishuna", meaning "lightning", as the name was in his family on his father's side. [7] During the liberation struggle Nujoma was also the commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) and the chairman of the Swapo Military Council, which was the biggest decision making body of PLAN. [8]

After serving 47 years as leader of SWAPO, he was succeeded by Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2007. There was speculation that he would be re-elected as SWAPO leader in 2007 and that he was planning to run for president again in 2009. [9] In early October 2007, however, Nujoma said that he had no intention of seeking re-election as SWAPO President and would stand aside in favour of Pohamba. [10] [11] Pohamba was accordingly elected unopposed as SWAPO president on 29 November 2007 at a party congress. Nujoma said that he was "passing the torch and mantle of leadership to comrade Pohamba". [12] The congress also decided to give Nujoma the title of Leader of the Namibian Revolution, in addition to his existing title, Founding Father of the Namibian Nation. [13] Choosing to leave active politics, Nujoma was not re-elected to the SWAPO Central Committee nor the Politburo, [14] but the congress granted him permission to attend meetings of the Central Committee and Politburo "at his discretion". He may also receive the title of National Chairman of SWAPO. [13]

President of Namibia

Nujoma pictured on an HIV billboard in 2004 Every Namibian Nujoma.jpg
Nujoma pictured on an HIV billboard in 2004

As head of SWAPO, Nujoma was unanimously declared president upon the victory of SWAPO in a United Nations-supervised election in 1989, and was sworn in by UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on 21 March 1990.

At independence, Namibia was gravely divided as a result of a century of colonialism, dispossession, and racial discrimination, compounded by armed struggle and propaganda. For instance, SWAPO had been so demonised by the colonial media and by official pronouncements that most white people, as well as many members of other groups, regarded the movement with the deepest fear, loathing, and suspicion. One of Nujoma's earliest achievements was to proclaim the policy of "national reconciliation", which aimed to improve and harmonise relations amongst Namibia's various racial and ethnic groups. Under his presidency, Namibia made steady if unspectacular economic progress, maintained a democratic system with respect for human rights, observed the rule of law, and worked steadily to eradicate the heritage of apartheid in the interests of developing a non-racial society. Nujoma successfully united all Namibians into a peaceful, tolerant and democratic society governed by the rule of law.

In 1992 Norway decided to stop drought relief to Namibia in response to the purchase of an expensive new presidential jet and two new VIP helicopters. The planes were bought a few weeks after Nujoma had appealed to the international community for drought aid. [15]

In 1990 Nujoma initiated a plan for land reform, in which land would be redistributed from whites to blacks. Some 12% of the total commercial farmland in the country was taken away from white farmers and given to black citizens by 2007. [16] However, according to a 1998 statement made by the Cabinet of Namibia "the agricultural base is too weak to offer a sustainable basis for prosperity" and 38% of Namibia's rural population continue to live beneath the poverty line as of 2010. [17]

Nujoma with Shankar Dayal Sharma, President of India, in 1995. The President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma along with the President, Namibia, Mr. Sam Nujoma, during ceremonial departure at Eros airport, Windhoek.jpg
Nujoma with Shankar Dayal Sharma, President of India, in 1995.

Nujoma was re-elected as President of Namibia in December 1994 with 76.3% of the vote. [18] The constitution of Namibia was changed to allow Nujoma to run for a third five-year term in 1999; this was justified on the grounds that he had not been directly elected for his first term, and the change applied only to Nujoma. He won the 1999 election with 76.8% of the vote. [18] The constitution did not allow Nujoma to run in November 2004 for a fourth term, and there was not much enthusiasm even within SWAPO to change it again. Hifikepunye Pohamba, described as Nujoma's "hand-picked successor", was elected as the candidate for the presidential election during the SWAPO congress held on 30 May 2004, defeating two other candidates, Nahas Angula and Hidipo Hamutenya. The latter had been dismissed from his post of Foreign Affairs minister by Nujoma barely two days before the congress. Pohamba was elected with a large majority and was sworn in as second President of Namibia on 21 March 2005.

Nujoma with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, in 2004 Lula - Nujoma meeting (2004) 3.jpg
Nujoma with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, in 2004

In 1998 Nujoma came to the defence of the Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent Kabila when his rule came under threat from rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda during the Second Congo War. Namibia became involved in the war on behalf of its commitment to the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Namibian, Angolan and Zimbabwean troops helped Kabila fend off the attacks – a move which Nujoma saw as defending the DRC's sovereignty against outside interference. [19] [20] [21]

Nujoma in 2003 Namibia.SamNujoma.01.jpg
Nujoma in 2003

Nujoma was the international patron and a strong supporter of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, based in Namibia. [22]

In 2001, Nujoma announced purges against gays and lesbians in Namibia, saying "the police must arrest, imprison and deport homosexuals and lesbians found in Namibia." [23]

Post-presidency

Nujoma meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Windhoek on 25 June 2009. Dmitry Medvedev in Namibia 25 June 2009-9.jpg
Nujoma meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Windhoek on 25 June 2009.
Sam Nujoma with awarded athletes Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma and their coach Henk Botha in Walvis Bay, on 24 Novembre 2021. Henk Botha, Beatrice Masilingi, Sam Nujoma, Christine Mboma at Sam Nujoma Foundation.jpg
Sam Nujoma with awarded athletes Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma and their coach Henk Botha in Walvis Bay, on 24 Novembre 2021.

Despite stepping down from a formal role, Nujoma is still active in the political sphere, regularly campaigning for SWAPO at various rallies and functions across the country. In 2009, Nujoma attained a master's degree in geology from the University of Namibia.

The director of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Namibia stated that Nujoma had connections to the CIA. [24] The organisation has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Nujoma and what they say is his role in disappearances during his term. To date, these claims have not been substantiated. [25]

Despite his commitment and actions during his presidency to foster racial reconciliation and harmony between the various ethnic groups of Namibia, Nujoma has made controversial and violent remarks after his presidency. In mid- June 2009, he called on the SWAPO party youth to take up arms and, as he put it, "drive the colonists out of the country" [26] . In the same month in 2009, Sam Nujoma attacked the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (DELK), accusing it of having "collaborated with the enemy before independence and possibly still being an enemy". He also said: "We tolerate them. But if they don't behave, we will attack them. And when they call their white friends from Germany, we will shoot them in the head” [27] . In September 2009, during a speech in northern Namibia defending Robert Mugabe, Nujoma repeatedly verbally attacked Americans, Britons and Germans and urged his supporters: “as soon as you see an Englishman, hit him with a hammer in the head.” He further added, as he had done previously in June 2009: “...that Germans who are unwilling to cooperate should be shot in the head.” [28]

Marriage and personal life

Nujoma married Kovambo Theopoldine Katjimune on 6 May 1956. [29] The couple had three sons and one daughter; Utoni Daniel (born 1952), John Ndeshipanda (1955–1993), [30] Sakaria "Zacky" Nujoma (born 1957), and Nelago Nujoma (born 1959), who died at 18 months while Nujoma was in exile. [31] Two decades elapsed before his wife joined him abroad. Nujoma's first-born son, Utoni, is a high ranking politician and member of SWAPO who is both a member of Cabinet and National Assembly of Namibia. His youngest son, Zacky, is a geologist by profession who has interest in business and mining.

Nujoma's father, Daniel Uutoni Nujoma, whose sole "crime" was being Nujoma's father, was arrested at Okahao and sent to Pretoria prison in 1966. There he developed tuberculosis from which he later died in 1968. [32] Nujoma's mother, Kuku Helvi Mpingana Kondombolo, lived to an exceptionally old age, dying in November 2008; she was reportedly more than 100 years old. [33]

Sakaria "Zacky" Nujoma, youngest son of Nujoma, has been named in association with the Panama Papers. [34]

Honours and recognition

Date of awardHonour/Award TitleReason for AwardAwarding Body
11973 Lenin Peace Prize USSR
21980Frederic Joliot Curie Gold Medal
31984Medaglia Pontificia (Pope's Medal) Anno VI The Vatican City, Italy
41988Grant Master Order Merit: The Grant Cruz (Highest Order) Brazil
51988Ho Chi Minh Peace Award Vietnam
61988The Namibia Freedom AwardFor his leadership role in the struggle against apartheid California State University, USA
71988Honorary Citizenship of the City of AtlantaFor his leadership role in the struggle for freedom, national independence and social justice Atlanta, USA
81988Recognition granted City and County of San Francisco
91988Recognition granted City of Chicago
101988Recognition granted City of East Palo Alto
111990 Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for Disarmament and Development In recognition of his outstanding contribution in leading the people of Namibia to freedom India
121991Medaglia Pontificia (Pope's Medal) Anno XIIIThe Vatican City, Italy
131991 Order of José Martí Cuba
141991Ordre du Merite Congo Republic of Congo
151992 Chief of Golden Heart Kenya
161992 Order of the National Flag (First Class) Democratic People's Republic of Korea
171994 "Grand Cordon" Decoration Tunisia
181995 Grand Master of the Order of Welwitschia Namibia
191995 Order of Liberty (Grand Collar) Portugal
201995Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger The Hunger Project
211996 Order of Good Hope (Gold)South Africa
222002 Order of Friendship Award Vietnam
232003O.B.F.F.S.Romania
242003Fellowship Award of the Institute of Governance and Social ResearchIn recognition of his contribution to the liberation of his country, the establishment of Democratic foundation, peace and Political stability in Namibia, and the enhancement of the dignity of the Black Man Institute of Governance and Social Research, Nigeria
252004Companion of the Order of the Star of Ghana (Ghana National Highest Award)As an expression of respect and admiration of the Government and people of GhanaGhana
262004Founding President of the Republic of Namibia and Father of the Namibian NationIn recognition of his dedication to his selfless sacrifice to the national liberation struggle and nation building Namibian Parliament
272004Lifetime Conservation Award Cheetah Conservation Fund (Nujoma is the international patron of this organisation since 1991) [35]
282007Leader of the Namibian Revolution SWAPO Party of Namibia
292008International KIM IL Sung Prize Certificate Democratic People's Republic of Korea
302010 Sir Seretse Khama SADC Meda SADC
312016Order of Solidarity "El Mehdi Ben Barka"Awarded to Third World personalities who have won the esteem of the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America because of their struggle and outstanding contribution in the common battle for freedom, independence, peace, economic development and social justice. Cuba [36]
322018 Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo For his opposition to the government of Apartheid South Africa South Africa
332021 Order of Francisco de Miranda First ClassBy the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan Minister of the People's Power for Foreign Relations, Jorge Arreasza) Venezuela [37]

Honorary doctorates

Date of awardTitleAwarding University
11973Honorary Doctorate of Law Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria
11975Honorary Doctorate of Computer ScienceOmbwana University, Malawi
21986Certificate of Honour University of Ibadan, Nigeria
31990Honorary Doctorate Degree of Law Lincoln University, USA
41990Honorary Doctorate Degree of Law National University of Lesotho, Lesotho [38]
51992Honorary Doctorate Degree of Technology Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria
61993Honorary Doctorate Degree in Education University of Namibia
71993Honorary Doctorate Degree of Law Central State University, USA
81996Doctor of Laws University of Atlanta, USA,
91997Honorary Doctorate Degree of Laws Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
101998Honorary Doctorate Degree Russian Economic Academy, Russia
111998Honorary Doctorate Degree Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Russia
121999Honorary Degree of Doctor of Public Service La Roche College, USA
131999Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws University of Zimbabwe
152003Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Nigeria
142005Honorary Doctorate in Public Management Polytechnic of Namibia [39]
152006Honorary Professor China University of Geosciences
162015Doctor of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Studies University of Zambia

See also

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Peter Mweshihange was a Namibian revolutionary and guerrilla leader, and after Namibian independence, a politician and diplomat. He was the Namibia's first Minister of Defence from 1990 to 1995, and first ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 1996 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Nankudhu</span> Namibian guerrilla, army officer, and politician

John ya Otto Nankudhu was a Namibian guerrilla, army officer and politician. He was the commander of the forces of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) at Omugulugwombashe when the armed struggle for independence began there on 26 August 1966 and was later jailed for 17 years at Robben Island. He is a National Hero of Namibia for his contributions to the independence of the country.

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.

Eliaser Inamutwika Noah Tuhadeleni, nom de guerre: Kaxumba ka Ndola was a Namibian anti-apartheid activist, guerrilla fighter and political prisoner. He was one of the co-founders of the Ovamboland People's Congress in Cape Town, South Africa and became one of the first participants of the Namibian War of Independence. Tuhadeleni also took part in the battle of Omugulugwombashe, which was the first battle of the Namibian War of Independence.

Peter Eneas Nanyemba,, (1935–1983) was a commander of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) during the South African Border War. Nanyemba worked as a diplomat, representing SWAPO in Botswana and Tanzania, before he was elected as the party Secretary of Defence in 1970. He played an important role as the chief organizer of PLAN during the beginning stages of the war of independence. Nanyemba is considered a national hero in Namibia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namibia–North Korea relations</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence Memorial Museum (Namibia)</span> History museum in Windhoek, Namibia

The Independence Memorial Museum is a history museum in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It focuses on the anti-colonial resistance and the national liberation movement of Namibia.

Gaus Shikomba was a South West Africa Liberation Army (Swala) intelligence officer who was imprisoned on Robben Island from 1966 to 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazil–Namibia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Brazil and Namibia established diplomatic relations in 1990. Both nations are members of the Group of 77 and the United Nations.

Godfrey ǀKhaesen Gaoseb was a Namibian economist and civil servant. He served as the first permanent secretary in the Namibian Ministry of Finance after the independence of Namibia, an executive director of the World Bank, and as the Special Advisor on Economics to presidents Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba.

References

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In book and film

Party political offices
New political party President of SWAPO
1960–2007
Succeeded by
First SWAPO nominee for President of Namibia
1994, 1999
Political offices
New office President of Namibia
1990–2005
Succeeded by