Hifikepunye Pohamba
Second president of Namibia and SWAPO leader.
Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba, born on 18 August 1935 in Okanghudi in what was then Ovamboland (now part of Namibia’s Ohangwena Region), 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. He also led SWAPO as its president from 2007 until his retirement in 2015 and is a recipient of the Ibrahim Prize. After completing primary school at an Anglican mission school, he worked at the Tsumeb mine. Active in the Ovamboland People’s Organization, he became a founding member of SWAPO in 1960 and left mining to organize full-time. He went into exile in 1961, meeting Sam Nujoma in Dar es Salaam. Arrested in Rhodesia on his return journey, he was jailed in Bulawayo, deported to Johannesburg, imprisoned for six months, then placed under house arrest in Ovamboland. In 1964 he set up SWAPO’s Zambian office in Lusaka. He returned to Namibia with Nujoma in 1966 but was deported to Zambia the next day. SWAPO transferred him to Algeria in 1971 as chief representative for northern Africa, and in 1979 he became chief of operations in Lusaka. After studying politics in the Soviet Union from 1981 to 1982, he moved to SWAPO’s headquarters in Luanda, Angola. He headed SWAPO’s 1989 election campaign and served in the Constituent Assembly before becoming a National Assembly member at independence in 1990. His ministerial posts included Home Affairs (1990–1995), Fisheries and Marine Resources (1995–1997), Minister without portfolio (1997–2000), and Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (2001–2005). As lands minister, he initiated a policy of partial land expropriation from white farmers to landless black ones to supplement the “willing buyer-willing seller” approach. He was SWAPO secretary-general from 1997 to 2002 and vice-president from 2002 to 2007. Selected as SWAPO’s 2004 presidential candidate at a May 2004 party congress, he won the nomination in a second-round vote against Hidipo Hamutenya. His 2004 landslide victory was denounced as flawed by the opposition. As president, he made careful but decisive moves against corruption. In November 2007 he was elected unopposed as SWAPO president, with Nujoma passing the torch. He won a second term in November 2009 with 76.42% of the vote. Unable to stand in 2014 due to term limits, he was succeeded by Hage
- born
- 18 August 1935
- field
- Politics
- nationality
- Namibian
- known_for
- Second president of Namibia, SWAPO leader, recipient of the Ibrahim Prize
Lore & Background
Hifikepunye Pohamba was born on 18 August 1935 in Okanghudi, then part of South West Africa, in an area then known as Ovamboland. He completed his primary education at an Anglican mission school before taking up work at a mine. Active in the Ovamboland People's Organization, he became a founding member of SWAPO in 1960 and left his mining job to organize full-time for the liberation movement. He went into exile in 1961, traveling to Dar es Salaam where he met Sam Nujoma for the first time. On a return mission to mobilize people, he was arrested in Rhodesia, jailed in Bulawayo, deported to Johannesburg, spent six months in jail, and was then placed under house arrest in Ovamboland. He again left Namibia in 1964 to set up SWAPO’s office in Lusaka. In 1966, he returned with Nujoma, but both were deported to Zambia the following day. He later became SWAPO’s chief representative for northern Africa based in Algeria, then its chief of operations in Lusaka, and studied politics in the Soviet Union before moving to SWAPO’s headquarters in Luanda. After independence, he held several ministerial posts, including Home Affairs, Fisheries, and Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, where he initiated a policy of partial land expropriation from white farmers to landless black citizens. He served as SWAPO’s secretary-general and vice-president before being elected president of Namibia in 2004 with a landslide victory, succeeding Nujoma. He was reelected in 2009. As president, he took over the chancellorship of the University of Namibia and was noted for careful but decisive moves against corruption. He retired in 2015 and is a recipient of the Ibrahim Prize.
Reader's Guide
Pohamba's significance lies in his leadership of Namibia during a period of continuity and gradual reform after the long presidency of Sam Nujoma. As president, he distinguished himself by careful but decisive moves against corruption and pushed for gender equality and increased spending on housing and education. His presidency also saw the continuation of land reform, including a policy of partial land expropriation from white farmers to landless black ones, supplementing the existing 'willing buyer-willing seller' approach. His legacy is that of a stable, if not transformative, leader who maintained SWAPO's dominance and oversaw Namibia's second decade of independence.
Did You Know?
- Pohamba was a founding member of SWAPO in 1960.
- He was arrested in Rhodesia and jailed in Bulawayo before being deported to Johannesburg.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Hifikepunye Pohamba important in Namibian and African history?
He was the first leader to succeed Sam Nujoma, helping steer Namibia through a period of economic growth and democratic consolidation after independence. His work in governance and development was recognized internationally when he received the Ibrahim Prize for Leadership in Africa.
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