SWAPO PARTY AND NAMIBIAN PRESIDENT
President Hifikepunye Pohamba was born on 18 August 1935 at Okanghudhi- Pohamba Village, Ondobe Constituency, Ohangwena Region. His parents were Pohamba Hamukoto and Kaupumhote Nghituuamata. He had four brothers and four sisters. He is married to Penehupifo Pohamba. They are blessed with one son and two daughters.

President Pohamba completed primary education in Namibia at the Holy Cross Mission, Onamunama Village. He underwent military training during 1974 and 1978 in Tanzania and Zambia, respectively.


Serving SWAPO
1956-1960: Employed as Clerk at Tsumeb Corporation Limited (TCL).

1964-1969: Served as SWAPO Deputy Chief Representative for Central and North Africa, based in Algiers, Algeria.

1973-1977: Served as SWAPO Chief Representative in East Africa, based in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

1978: Elected as a Member of the Political Bureau of SWAPO.

1978-1989: Served as Secretary for Finance of SWAPO.

1980 – 1981: Attended Party School in Moscow, Russian Federation, and obtained a Diploma in Leadership and Political Science.

1982: Undertook training in Project Planning and Finance, under the auspices of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).

1989: Head of Administration, SWAPO Elections Directorate, Windhoek, Namibia.

1990-1995: Served as the first Minister of Home Affairs, Republic of Namibia.

1996-1998: Served as Minster of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Republic of Namibia.

1999-2000: Served as Minister Without Portfolio in the Office of the President, Republic of Namibia.

2001-2005: Served as Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, Republic of Namibia.

2005 to date: President of the Republic of Namibia.

Political Activities
1960: Founding member of SWAPO and Political Mobilizer.

1961: Arrested, chained for several days and flogged publicly at Ohangwena Traditional Court due to his political activism.

1961: Left Namibia for Tanganyika the present Tanzania and returned to Namibia in 1962. Arrested and imprisoned for 5 months and thereafter was placed under house arrest at Okanghudi village. He again left the country for Tanzania.

1963: Returned to Namibia and operated underground as a SWAPO Mobilizer.

1964: Left Namibia for the second time for Tanzania to participate in the organization of the national liberation struggle.

1966: Returned to Namibia together with Comrade Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma to challenge the South African Colonial Administration. They were subsequently detained and deported the following day back to Zambia.

1970: Elected as a member of the Central Committee and Deputy Administrative Secretary of SWAPO at the SWAPO Consultative Congress held at Tanga, Tanzania.

1977: Elected as a member of the Central Committee and its Political Bureau, and as Secretary for Finance at the SWAPO Consultative Congress held at Namupundwe, Zambia.

1983: Re-elected to the Central Committee and its Political Bureau, as Secretary for Finance at the Enlarged SWAPO Central Committee Meeting held at Kwanza-Sul, Angola.

1989: Elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly which drafted the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia.

1990: Became a Member of National Assembly (Parliament) of the Republic of Namibia.

1991: Re-elected to the Central Committee and its Political Bureau and as Secretary for Finance at the first Congress of SWAPO held in an independent Namibia.

1997: At the 2nd SWAPO Party Congress held in Windhoek, he was elected as the Secretary General of the SWAPO Party.

2002: Elected as Vice President of the SWAPO Party at its 3rd Congress held in Windhoek.

2004: Elected as the SWAPO Party Presidential Candidate at the SWAPO Party Extra-Ordinary Congress held in Windhoek.

2004: Elected President of the Republic of Namibia.

2005: Sworn-in as the President of the Republic of Namibia on 21 March 2005. He is a recipient of Namibia’s highest award, the Most Ancient Order of the Welwitchia Mirabilis.

1997-1989: Responsible for the management of income and expenditure of SWAPO, including the management of all donor assistance to SWAPO, its Settlements and Projects in exile and in Namibia.

1983-1984: Assigned the responsibility of designing a framework for the establishment of a future Bank of Namibia with the assistance of the Government of Sweden, including the recruitment of its first Governor, the design of the future fiscal and monetary policies for an independent Namibia.

Hobbies: Reading, political debates, watching football, traditional music and dance.

Publications: Co-authored various SWAPO Party policy papers and publications, including the guide “implementation of SWAPO Party Election Manifesto”, November 2000.