HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in
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 ...
. Founded in 1960, it has been the governing party in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by the Ovambo ethnic group. SWAPO held a two-thirds majority in
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
from 1994 to 2019. In the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held in November 2019, the party won 65.5% of the popular vote and 63 out of the 104 seats in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
. It also holds 28 out of the 42 seats in the National Council. As of November 2017,
Namibian President The president of the Republic of Namibia is the head of state and the head of government of Namibia. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of Namibia, as chair of the Cabinet and is the commander-in-chief of the arme ...
Hage Geingob has been the president of SWAPO after being elected to the position at the party's electoral congress.


History


Background and foundation

German South West Africa was established in 1884. After World War I, the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...
gave South West Africa, formerly a German colony, to the United Kingdom as a
mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...
under the administration of South Africa. When the National Party won the 1948 election in South Africa and subsequently introduced
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
legislation, these laws were applied as well to South West Africa. It was considered the ''de facto'' fifth province of South Africa. SWAPO was founded on 19 April 1960 as the successor of the
Ovamboland People's Organization The Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) was a nationalist organization that existed between 1959 and 1960 in South West Africa (now present day Namibia). The aim of the organization was to end the South African colonial administration, and the ...
. Leaders renamed the party to show that it represented all Namibians. But, the organisation had its base among the
Ovambo Ovambo may refer to: *Ovambo language *Ovambo people *Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland ...
people of northern Namibia, who constituted nearly half the total population.


Struggle for independence

During 1962, SWAPO had emerged as the dominant nationalist organisation for the Namibian people. It co-opted other groups such as the
South West Africa National Union The South West Africa National Union (SWANU) is a Namibian political party founded in 1959. Most of its members came from the Herero people, while fellow independence movement SWAPO was mostly an Ovambo party. The party's president is Charles ...
(SWANU), and later in 1976 the Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation. SWAPO used
guerrilla tactics Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tacti ...
to fight the South African Defence Force. On 26 August 1966, the first major clash of the conflict took place, when a unit of the South African Police, supported by the South African Air Force, exchanged fire with SWAPO forces. This date is generally regarded as the start of what became known in South Africa as the Border War. In 1972, the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
recognised SWAPO as the 'sole legitimate representative' of Namibia's people. The Norwegian government began giving aid directly to SWAPO in 1974. The country of
Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...
gained its independence on 11 November 1975 following its war for independence. The leftist
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social dem ...
(MPLA), supported by
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
and the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, came to power. In March 1976, the MPLA offered SWAPO bases in Angola for launching attacks against the South African military.


Independent Namibia

When Namibia gained its independence in 1990, SWAPO became the dominant political party. Though the organisation rejected the term '' South West Africa'' and preferred to use ''Namibia'', the organisation's original name—derived from the territory's old name—was too deeply rooted in the independence movement to be changed. However, the original full name is no longer used; only the acronym remains. SWAPO, and with it much of Namibia's government and administration, continues to be dominated by the Ovambo ethnic group, despite "considerable efforts to counter hatperception". SWAPO president Sam Nujoma was declared Namibia's first
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
after SWAPO won the inaugural election in 1989. A decade later, Nujoma had the constitution changed so he could run for a third term in 1999, as it limits the presidency to two terms. In 2004, the SWAPO presidential candidate was
Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who 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 ...
, described as Nujoma's hand-picked successor. In 2014, the SWAPO presidential candidate was Hage Geingob, who was the Vice-President of SWAPO. In 2019
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
, president Geingob won his second five-year term as Namibian president.


Ideology

SWAPO was founded with the aim of attaining the independence of Namibia and thus is part of the
African nationalist African nationalism is an umbrella term which refers to a group of political ideologies in sub-Saharan Africa, which are based on the idea of national self-determination and the creation of nation states.socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
, Marxist–Leninist ideology, a thinking that was not immediately abandoned when independence was achieved in 1990 and SWAPO became the ruling party. Officially, however, it adopted a
social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
ideology, until the electoral congress in 2017 approved the official change to
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...
with a "Namibian character", although some Namibians have labeled the change as lacking a "grass-roots ocialist nature. Various commentators have characterised the politics of SWAPO in different ways.
Gerhard Tötemeyer Gerhard Karl Hans Tötemeyer (born 21 May 1935) is a professor emeritus and retired Namibian politician who served as minister of local government between 2000 and 2004. He was born in Gibeon, and spent the first four years of his life in Keetman ...
, himself a party member, considers its post-independence politics
neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent f ...
and
social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
.
Henny Seibeb Henny Hendly Seibeb is a Namibian politician and Member of Parliament who serves as Deputy Leader and Chief Strategist (DLCS) of the Landless People's Movement political party which he formed alongside Bernadus Swartbooi in December 2016. Early l ...
, an opposition politician from the
Landless People's Movement The Landless People's Movement was an independent social movement in South Africa. It consisted of rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The Landless People's Movement boycotted parliamentary elections and had a histor ...
, describes the current party ideology as liberal nationalism with traces of "
dogmatism Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, I ...
, authoritarianism, and statism".


Structure

The party president is the top position of SWAPO; in 2012 this was held by Namibia's former president Pohamba. The vice-president is Namibia's current president Hage Geingob, who was elected to that position in 2007 and reconfirmed at the SWAPO congress in December 2012. The third highest position in SWAPO is the secretary-general, a position held in December 2012 by Nangolo Mbumba. Number four is the deputy secretary-general, Omaheke governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua. Like many socialist and communist parties, SWAPO is governed by a politburo and a central committee. The party leadership is advised by a youth league, a women's council, and an elders' council.


Politburo

The politburo of SWAPO is a body that consists of: * The party president: Hage Geingob * The former party president:
Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who 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 ...
* The secretary-general: Sophia Shaningwa * The deputy secretary-general: Marco Hausiku * 2 members appointed by the party president * 18 members elected by the SWAPO central committee: * Nangolo Mbumba * Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila * Laura McLeod-Katjirua *
Pohamba Shifeta Pohamba Penomwenyo Shifeta (born 27 March 1968) is a Namibian politician. He is Namibia's Minister of Environment and Tourism since his appointment by president Hage Geingob in March 2015. Early life and education Shifeta was born at Ongenga in ...
*
Peter Katjavivi Peter Hitjitevi Katjavivi (born 12 May 1941) is a Namibian politician who is the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia since March 2015 and the chancellor of the Namibia University of Science and Technology from 1992 to 2003. Previously he ...
* Doreen Sioka *
Katrina Hanse-Himarwa Katrina Hanse-Himarwa (born 22 January 1967, in Hoachanas) is a Namibian politician. A member of the SWAPO party, she served as Minister of Education, Arts and Culture from 21 March 2015 to 9 July 2019. Hanse-Himarwa is a teacher by profession. ...
* Margaret Mensah-Williams * Sirkka Ausiku * Lucia Witbooi * Hilma Nikanor *
Bernard Esau Bernhardt Martin Esau, also ''Bernhard'' or ''Bernard'' (born 9 December 1957), is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Esau has been a member of the National Assembly since being nominated by P ...
* Alpheus ǃNaruseb *
Calle Schlettwein Carl-Hermann Gustav "Calle" Schlettwein (born 13 June 1954) is a Namibian politician who has served in the country's cabinet since 2012. In March 2020, he was appointed the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform after serving as the Min ...
*
John Mutorwa John Mutorwa (born 17 August 1957) is a Namibian politician and current Minister of Works and Transport. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Mutorwa has served in the National Assembly of Namibia as well as the cabi ...
*
Albert Kawana Albert Kawana (born 26 March 1956) is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Kawana has been a member of the National Assembly and cabinet since 2000, serving in various positions. Since April 2021 he is minister of Home Affairs, Immigratio ...
* Lucia Iipumbu *
Tobie Aupindi ''Tobie'' is an oratorio by Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust'' (1859); hi ...


Central Committee

SWAPO's Central Committee consists of: * The president * The vice-president * The secretary-general * The deputy secretary-general * The founding president of SWAPO as a permanent member * 13 SWAPO Party regional coordinators * 54 members elected at the party congress * 10 members appointed by the party president The members are: * Hage Geingob (''ex officio'', SWAPO President) * Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (''ex officio'', SWAPO Vice-President) * Sophia Shaningwa (''ex officio'', SWAPO Secretary-General) * Marco Hausiku (''ex officio'', SWAPO Deputy Secretary-General) * Sam Nujoma (''ex officio'' SWAPO founding President) * Hifikepunye Pohamba (''ex officio'' SWAPO former President) Elected members: * Nahas Angula *
Abraham Iyambo Abraham Iyambo (2 February 1961 – 2 February 2013) was a Namibian politician. Iyambo was a member of the National Assembly of Namibia since 1995, serving as Minister of the Fisheries from 1997 to 2010 and as Minister of Education from 2010 u ...
*
Ben Amathila Ben Amathila (born 1 October 1938 in Walvis Bay) is a retired Namibian politician. Amathila served in the government of Namibia with SWAPO from independence in 1990 until his retirement in April 2007. From 1990 to 1993 he served as Minister of ...
* Marco Hausiku * Nickey Iyambo * Jerry Ekandjo * John Mutorwa * Utoni Nujoma * Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila * Theo-Ben Gurirab * Libertine Amathila * Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah * Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana *
Bernard Esau Bernhardt Martin Esau, also ''Bernhard'' or ''Bernard'' (born 9 December 1957), is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Esau has been a member of the National Assembly since being nominated by P ...
*
Pohamba Shifeta Pohamba Penomwenyo Shifeta (born 27 March 1968) is a Namibian politician. He is Namibia's Minister of Environment and Tourism since his appointment by president Hage Geingob in March 2015. Early life and education Shifeta was born at Ongenga in ...
* Richard Kamwi * Petrus Iilonga *
Joel Kaapanda Joel Natangwe Kaapanda (born 12 June 1945) is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Kaapanda was a member of the National Assembly of Namibia from November 2002 to March 2020. He served in cabine ...
*
Albert Kawana Albert Kawana (born 26 March 1956) is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Kawana has been a member of the National Assembly and cabinet since 2000, serving in various positions. Since April 2021 he is minister of Home Affairs, Immigratio ...
*
David Namwandi Richard David Namwandi (born February 28, 1954) is a Namibian politician and academic. He served as the Minister of Education from 2013 to 2015 and is the founder of the International University of Management (IUM). He is a member of SWAPO, Namibi ...
* Isak Katali * Katrina Hanse-Himarwa *
Erkki Nghimtina Erkki Nghimtina (born 16 September 1947) is a Namibian politician and former military officer in the Namibia Defence Force (NDF).http://209.88.21.36/opencms/opencms/grnnet/MWTC/Minister/biography.html A member of the South West Africa People's ...
* Tjekero Tweya *
Erastus Uutoni Erastus Amutenya Uutoni (born 29 January 1961) is a Namibian SWAPO politician who has served in the cabinet of Namibia since March 2010. Uutoni was born on 29 January 1961 in Omatando, near Ongwediva in Ovamboland of South West Africa (today th ...
* Samuel Ankama * Margaret Mensah-Williams * Mandume Pohamba * Doreen Sioka *
Kazenambo Kazenambo Kazenambo Kazenambo, commonly known as KK, (6 July 1963 – 17 August 2021) was a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Kazenambo was first elected to the 4th National Assembly of Namibia in 2005 and appointed deputy Minister of Local and R ...
* Helmut Angula *
Peya Mushelenga Samuel Abraham Peyavali "Peya" Mushelenga (born September 01, 1975 in Oshigambo, Ovamboland) is a Namibian politician and poet. He is broadly educated, holding twelve academic qualifications from six different universities. A member of SWAPO, Mu ...
*
Loide Kasingo Loide Lucky Shoopala Kasingo (born 17 February 1954)Loide Kasingo
at Namibia Institute for Democracy< ...
* Alpheus ǃNaruseb *
Peter Katjavivi Peter Hitjitevi Katjavivi (born 12 May 1941) is a Namibian politician who is the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia since March 2015 and the chancellor of the Namibia University of Science and Technology from 1992 to 2003. Previously he ...
*
Leon Jooste Leon Jooste (born 18 February 1969 in Grootfontein, Otjozondjupa Region) is a Namibian politician and businessperson who served as Minister of Public Enterprises until 1 December 2022. Education and early life Jooste attended school at Paul Roo ...
* Asser Kapere * Charles Namoloh * Lempy Lucas * Veikko Nekundi * Hilma Nikanor * Lucia Witbooi * Penda Ya Ndakolo *
Usko Nghaamwa Usko Nghihepavali Nghaamwa is a Namibian businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He's originally from Oipapakane Village in the Ohangwena Region. A member of SWAPO, Nghaamwa has been the Governor of the northern Ohangwena Region Ohangwena ...
* Immanuel Ngatjizeko * Eunice Iipinge * Elia Kaiyamo * Moses Amweelo * Sophia Shaningwa * Samuel Nuuyoma * Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun * Rosalia Nghidinwa * Clemens Kashuupulwa * Henock Ya Kasita * Uahekua Herunga *
Willem Konjore Reverend Willem Konjore (30 July 1945—10 June 2021) was a Namibian politician. He was a member and a deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, and served in cabinet from 2005 to 2010. Early life and education Konjore was born on 30 ...
President-appointed members (2017): * Calle Schlettwein * Erkki Nghimtina * Penda Ya Ndokolo * Christina Hoebes * Jennely Matundu * Collien van Wyk


List of presidents

* Sam Nujoma- (1960 – 2007) *
Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who 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 ...
- (2007 – 2015) * Hage Geingob- (2015 – 2017/acting president), (2017 – present)


Finances and business interests

Although SWAPO receives finances from government for its operations, the party also holds extensive business interests. Through Kalahari Holdings it entered into
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
s with several companies, most prominently the Namibian branch of
MultiChoice MultiChoice is a South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa and GOtv, a minor service operating in over 9 countries of this area and Showmax service. MultiChoice was formed out of the s ...
, a private satellite TV provider, of which it owns 51%. Kalahari Holdings has further joint ventures with Radio Energy,
Africa Online Africa Online Holding Ltd., sometimes abbreviated to AFOL, is the largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Africa. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, it offers Internet access and operates in ten African countries, including Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Namibia, ...
, and businesses in the tourism, farming, security services and health insurance sectors. It owns Namib Contract Haulage, Namprint, Kudu investment, and the Ndilimani Cultural Troupe. ''Namibia Today'' was the mouthpiece of the SWAPO, and Asser Ntinda its editor. The paper does not appear to have been active since 7 April 2011 and closed down in 2015.


Human rights abuses

Various groups have claimed that SWAPO committed serious human rights abuses against suspected spies during the independence struggle. Since the early 21st century, they have pressed the government more strongly on this issue. Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS) is one of the groups founded by people who were detained by SWAPO during the war and abused during interrogations. In 2004, BWS alleged that "In exile, hundreds of SWAPO dependants and members were detained, tortured and killed without trial." SWAPO denies serious infractions and claims anything that did happen was in the name of liberation. Because of a series of successful South African raids, the SWAPO leadership believed that spies existed in the movement. Hundreds of SWAPO cadres were imprisoned, tortured and interrogated. In 2005, the P.E.A.C.E. Centre (People's Education, Assistance and Counselling for Empowerment) conducted an extensive study on the lives of Namibian ex-fighters and their families fifteen years after Independence. Their published ebook investigates the post-independence lives of those who fought on both sides of the Namibian War of Independence. Data from this research indicate that ex-fighters exhibit symptoms of long-term
post traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
(PTSD). The findings indicate there is a correlation between the life circumstances of ex-fighters and their lack of resilience to traumatic war experiences. Resiliency has been linked to a number of protective factors, such as the socio-economic situation of the survivors, their socio-political environment, their social support networks, and their cognitive processes. The study says that, in the case of Namibian ex-fighters, long-term psychological distress is different from a simple PTSD diagnosis. The survivors have almost invariably gone for nearly two decades without seeking treatment, adding to their burdens. During this time, the ex-fighters have been exposed to additional social and psychological stressors through life events. For a person without PTSD, such stressors may have fleeting effects, but for a sufferer of long-term psychological distress, each life incident could reduce the survivor's resilience to trauma, as well as triggering "flashbacks" to events during the war.


Memberships

SWAPO is a full member of
Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisation ...
. It was a member of the
Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath ...
before the independence of Namibia in 1990.


Electoral history


Presidential elections


National Assembly elections


National Council elections


See also

* People's Liberation Army of Namibia * Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation *
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social dem ...
* South African Border War *
South West Africa National Union The South West Africa National Union (SWANU) is a Namibian political party founded in 1959. Most of its members came from the Herero people, while fellow independence movement SWAPO was mostly an Ovambo party. The party's president is Charles ...
* SWAPO for Justice * Andimba Toivo ya Toivo


References


External links

* Hoog, Tycho van der (2022).
A New Chapter in Namibian History: Reflections on Archival Research
. ''History in Africa''. – An explainer of existing archives on SWAPO.
Website of SWAPO

Website of the SWAPO Youth League


''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', 19 November 1989. {{DEFAULTSORT:Swapo African and Black nationalist organizations in Africa South West Africa Guerrilla organizations Military history of Namibia Political parties in Namibia Socialist International Rebel groups in Namibia National liberation movements National liberation armies Left-wing parties Anti-Apartheid organisations 1960 establishments in South West Africa Decolonization