World Courant
Hage Geingob, the president of Namibia, died on Sunday, February 4, in a hospital in Windhoek the place he was being handled for most cancers. He was 82. His vice chairman, Nangolo Mbumba, introduced his demise via social media.
Geingob was recognized with most cancers final month on the southern African nation’s presidential workplace after an annual medical check-up beforehand stated. In 2014, he stated he had survived prostate most cancers. Mbumba taken briefly Geingob’s duties when he traveled to the USA final week for “a two-day new therapy for most cancers cells.” Mbumba is now appearing president.
Hage Geingob is Namibia’s third president and a decided determine within the wrestle for independence. His life story was intertwined with that of his nation, reflecting previous struggles and present ambitions.
In an announcement SundaySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa described Geingob as “an incredible veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid. He was additionally instrumental within the solidarity that the individuals of Namibia prolonged to the individuals of South Africa in order that we may very well be free at the moment.”
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, additionally provided his condolences and stated he would “endlessly cherish” his recollections of the assembly with Geingob. “It’s troublesome to overestimate his contribution to the event of pleasant relations between Namibia and Russia,” the assertion stated.
Born in 1941 in Otjiwarongo, a small city in northern Namibia, Geingob grew up underneath the oppressive Bantu training system, which aimed to maintain the black majority in a state of ignorance and servitude. He was a sensible, curious scholar. But in addition a rebellious and open-hearted one. Geingob had a repute for protesting towards injustice. Because of this, he joined the liberation wrestle towards the apartheid regime, which had annexed Namibia as a colony of South Africa. He subsequently turned a member of the South West African Folks’s Group (SWAPO), the principle resistance motion.
In 1961, Geingob went into exile and spent the subsequent twenty-nine years in Botswana and the USA. There he acquired his bachelor’s, grasp’s and doctoral levels in political science and worldwide relations. He additionally turned a diplomat and spokesperson for SWAPO, representing the reason for Namibia’s independence on the United Nations and throughout the Americas. His deft negotiations paved the way in which for the 1988 tripartite settlement, which in the end ended South Africa’s rule.
In 1989, Geingob returned to Namibia as a part of the UN-supervised transition to democracy. He was elected president of the Constituent Meeting, which drafted the nation’s structure. The structure, which was unanimously adopted in 1990, is extensively thought to be probably the most progressive and democratic in Africa. It ensures human rights, civil liberties and the rule of regulation. It additionally gives for a multi-party system, a bicameral legislature, an unbiased judiciary and a presidential time period restrict.
He subsequently turned Namibia’s first Prime Minister in 1990, appointed by the founding President, Sam Nujoma. Via this appointment he performed an essential function within the reconstruction of Namibia. Geingob was prime minister till 2002, when Theo-Ben Gurirab succeeded him.
Afterwards he remained politically lively and held varied positions inside SWAPO and the federal government. He was Minister of Commerce and Trade from 2008 to 2012 after which served as Prime Minister once more. These strikes earned him a straightforward victory when he ran for president in 2014. He gained 87% of the nation’s votes. However his re-election was not really easy, as solely 59% of residents needed him again. This margin break up was comprehensible as Namibia remains to be removed from its potential.
Namibia, with simply over 2.5 million inhabitants, is wealthy in minerals equivalent to diamonds, gold and uranium. However regardless of being categorized as an upper-middle-income nation, there are nonetheless widespread socio-economic inequalities, in keeping with the World Financial institution.
But the nation has way more political and financial stability than lots of its neighbors. And that most likely would not have occurred with out Geingob. Even his opposition chief, McHenry Venaani, referred to as him a “grasp negotiator and statesman, a lighthouse of steadfast management in turbulent occasions” in his tribute.
What’s going to Namibia’s Hage Geingob be remembered for?
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