22 Facts About Hifikepunye Pohamba

Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba was born on 18 August 1935 and is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015.

Hifikepunye Pohamba won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO and was reelected in 2009.

Hifikepunye Pohamba was Minister of Home Affairs from 1990 to 1995, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources from 1995 to 1997, Minister without portfolio from 1997 to 2000, and Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation from 2001 to 2005.

Hifikepunye Pohamba was secretary-general of SWAPO from 1997 to 2002 and vice-president of SWAPO from 2002 to 2007.

Hifikepunye Pohamba was born on 18 August 1935 in Okanghudi, then part of South West Africa, in an area then known as Ovamboland.

Hifikepunye Pohamba completed his primary school education in the Anglican Holy Cross Mission school in Onamunhama, and in 1956 took up work at the Tsumeb mine.

When this national liberation movement transformed into SWAPO in 1960, Hifikepunye Pohamba was a founding member of the organization's new incarnation and left his job in the mine to work as a full-time organizer for the group.

Hifikepunye Pohamba traveled to Dar es Salaam to the newly-independent Tanganyika where he met Sam Nujoma, later Namibia's first president, for the first time.

Hifikepunye Pohamba spent six months in jail there and was then put under house arrest in Ovamboland.

Hifikepunye Pohamba went to Lusaka to set up SWAPO's Zambian office.

Hifikepunye Pohamba returned to Namibia in 1966 with Sam Nujoma, claiming that SWAPO leaders were not banned from traveling.

Hifikepunye Pohamba headed SWAPO's 1989 election campaign and was a SWAPO member of the Constituent Assembly, which was in place from November 1989 to March 1990, before becoming a member of the National Assembly at independence in March 1990.

Hifikepunye Pohamba was Minister of Home Affairs from March 1990 to 1995, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources from 1995 to 1997, and Minister without portfolio from 1997 to March 2000.

Hifikepunye Pohamba was elected as secretary-general of SWAPO in 1997 and as its vice-president in 2002.

Hifikepunye Pohamba was selected as SWAPO's candidate for the 2004 presidential election at an extraordinary party congress held in May 2004.

Hifikepunye Pohamba was backed by Nujoma, who was then serving his third five-year term; Pohamba has been described as Nujoma's hand-picked successor.

Hifikepunye Pohamba took office as president on 21 March 2005 and has since distinguished himself by careful but decisive moves against corruption.

On 29 November 2007, Hifikepunye Pohamba was elected as SWAPO President at a party congress; he was the only candidate to be nominated and no voting was deemed necessary.

Hifikepunye Pohamba won a second term in the November 2009 presidential election, receiving 611,241 total votes.

Hifikepunye Pohamba was unable to stand for re-election in 2014 due to constitutional term limits.

The election was again won overwhelmingly by SWAPO, and Hifikepunye Pohamba was succeeded by Hage Geingob on 21 March 2015.

Hifikepunye Pohamba ended his term with high approval ratings, being hailed for pushing for gender equality and increased spending on housing and education.