Moses Mague ǁGaroëb (14 April 1942, in Arixas near Mariental – 19 September 1997, in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

) was a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n politician, founding member of SWAPO, and member of SWAPO's Politburo and Central Committee. During his political career, ǁGaroëb served in the

Constituent Assembly of Namibia Below is a list of members of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which became the National Assembly of Namibia upon independence in March 1990. Individual members were selected by political parties voted for in the 1989 election, the first de ...

and was a Member of Parliament from the day of Namibian independence, 21 March 1990. He was appointed Minister of Labour and Human Resources in 1995, a position he held until his death.

Career

ǁGaroëb was born in April 1942 at , Arixas near Mariental as the son of Samuel Geingob and Rebecca Geingos. At the age of 17, he took an active part in the demonstrations against the forced removal from Windhoek's

Old Location The Old Location (or as it was known then the Main Location) was an area segregated for Black residents of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It was situated in the area between today's suburbs of Hochland Park and Pioneers Park. History Upon the ...

Katutura Katutura (Otjiherero for ''The place where people do not want to live'') is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which a ...

, and witnessed the massacre of 12 December 1959. He went into exile in 1961 as a member of SWANU, and joined SWAPO in the same year. He went to study in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and appeared before the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in the early 1960s. After graduating with a BA in Political Science from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

in New York, he returned from the U.S. to Africa in 1966. In

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, he became a broadcaster with '' The Namibian Hour'' from Radio Tanzania, and then editor of SWAPO's newsletter '' Namibia Today'' and Director of Information. At the SWAPO Consultative Congress in Tanga, 1969, he was appointed a member of the Central Committee and Executive Committee (later Political Bureau), positions which he held until his death, and SWAPO Administrative Secretary (until 1989). He was elected into the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

in 1989, continued as a member of the first

National Assembly of Namibia The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of clos ...

, and was re-elected in 1994. From 1990 to 1995, he served as SWAPO Secretary-General. From 1995 until his death he was Minister of Labour and Human Resources.

Death and legacy

Moses ǁGaroëb was a SWAPO loyalist. Not having a tribal power-base, his popularity within SWAPO was based on his outspokenness and his accessibility as an Administrative Secretary, while outside SWAPO, his often uncompromising and hard-hitting statements made him many enemies. ǁGaroëb was married to Monica ǁGaroës. They had three children. ǁGaroëb last years were overshadowed by progressing ill-health (

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

). He died on August 19, 1997 at Windhoek and was one of the first leaders of the independent Republic of Namibia who received a state funeral at the Old Location Cemetery on 27 September 1997. Founding president

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; 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 ...

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 201 ...

and

Theo-Ben Gurirab Theo-Ben Gurirab (23 January 1938 – 14 July 2018) was a Namibian politician who served in various senior government positions. He served as the second Prime Minister of Namibia from 28 August 2002 to 20 March 2005, following the demotion and ...

all attended his tombstone unveiling ceremony. On 26 August 2015, Namibia's

Heroes' Day Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that ...

, ǁGaroëb was reburied at Namibia's National Heroes' Acre.

Moses ǁGaroëb Constituency Moses ǁGaroëb Constituency is an electoral constituency in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It had a population of 45,564 in 2011, up from 25,642 in 2001. it had 41,550 registered voters. The constituency was created in 2003 under the name ...

in Windhoek is named after him, as well as a street in

Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...

and a primary school in Havana, Katutura.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garoeb, Moses 1942 births 1997 deaths Deaths from diabetes People from Hardap Region Damara people SWAPO politicians National heroes of Namibia Labour ministers of Namibia Members of the National Assembly (Namibia)