Hidipo Livius Hamutenya (17 June 1939 – 6 October 2016) 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. A long time leading member of the

South West Africa People's Organization 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 ind ...

(SWAPO), Hamutenya was a member of the

Cabinet of Namibia The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by Chapter 6 (Articles 35-42) of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include the following positions: the President of Namibia, the Prime Minister of Namibia and any pos ...

from independence in 1990 to 2004, serving in several important ministerial portfolios. He was defeated in a bid for the party's presidential nomination in 2004 and left SWAPO to form an opposition group, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), in 2007. He was elected to the

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 close ...

with RDP in the 2009 general election. He was forced to step down as RDP president on 28 February 2015 and rejoined SWAPO on 28 August 2015.

Early life and education

Hidipo Livius Hamutenya was born in

Odibo Odibo is a village in the north of Namibia close to the Angolan border known for its Anglican mission ''St Mary''. It belongs to the Oshikango electoral constituency in the Ohangwena Region. Odibo is also an Archdeaconry in the Diocese of Nam ...

in the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi aa well as the self-governed village of Okongo. , Ohangwena had 150,724 registered voters. Ohangw ...

of northern Namibia.Biographical information on Hamutenya
, Namibian parliament website. His father,

Aaron Hamutenya According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

, was a founding member of SWAPO. Hamutenya went to primary school at Odibo and

Engela Engela is an Ovambo people, Ovambo settlement in the Ohangwena Region in northern Namibia. Formerly situated in the Oukwanyama area it is since 2004 part of the town Helao Nafidi, although it still maintained its own village council until the Nami ...

and then attended the Augustineum Teachers Training College in

Okahandja Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the ...

from 1959 to 1961. He met other political activists there and took part when the 1959 Old Location Uprising spilled over from Windhoek to the Augustineum. At the end of 1961, aged 22, he went to

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 and ...

into exile.. Exact dates of Hamutenya's life are only available in the print version of this article. He studied journalism at the

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

in Bulgaria and then stayed 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 territorie ...

, where he obtained a BA in political science and history from

Lincoln University, Pennsylvania Lincoln University (LU) is a public state-related historically black university (HBCU) near Oxford, Pennsylvania. Founded as the private Ashmun Institute in 1854, it has been a public institution since 1972 and was the United States' first de ...

and a PD in development studies from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, both in 1969. In 1971 Hamutenya graduated from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada, with a MA.

Political career

Hamutenya served as SWAPO's representative to the Americas from 1965 to 1972 and as SWAPO's secretary for education from 1974 to 1976. He joined the SWAPO

politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

in August 1976, and at the same time he was a founding member of the

United Nations Institute for Namibia The United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) was an educational body set up by the United Nations Council for Namibia from 1976 to 1990. Based in Zambia's capital of Lusaka, UNIN was the brainchild of United Nations Commissioner for Namibia Se� ...

(UNIN) in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

; at the UNIN, Hamutenya was deputy director and head of the History and Political Science department from 1976 to 1981. From 1978 to 1989, he was part of SWAPO's negotiating team for the UN Plan for Namibian independence, and he was SWAPO's secretary of information and publicity from 1981 to 1991. Immediately prior to independence, he was a SWAPO member of 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 ...

, which was in place from November 1989 to March 1990, and when Namibia gained its independence in March 1990, he became a member of 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 repre ...

and the

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Ministry of I&B) is a ministerial level agency of the Government of India responsible for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations and laws in the areas of information, broadcasting, the ...

. He served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting until April 15, 1993, when he was instead appointed

Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

, trading posts with

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 ...

. He remained in the latter position for nine years, until he became

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

on 27 August 2002 in a cabinet reshuffle. Hamutenya received the 13th highest number of votes—352—in the election to the Central Committee of SWAPO at the party's August 2002 congress.

Fall out with SWAPO

In May 2004 Hamutenya sought SWAPO's nomination as its candidate for the

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 pre ...

which took place later in 2004;"Tension grips Swapo"
''The Namibian'', May 27, 2004. his candidacy was proposed by Mosé Penaani Tjitendero and seconded by Hartmut Ruppel. As the leadership contest was underway, Hamutenya was dismissed from his position as foreign minister by 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 ...

on 24 May, because Nujoma accused him of inciting division within the ranks of the party in the country's

Omaheke Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed vil ...

region.

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 ...

became the presidential candidate after two rounds of voting. In November 2007, Hamutenya resigned from SWAPO and from his seat in the National Assembly, where he had served for 17 years. In the same month he launched a new party, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), together with another former minister, Jesaya Nyamu.

2009 presidential campaign

In November 2009, Hamutenya was the RDP's candidate for

President of Namibia 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 armed fo ...

. He finished in second place with 88,640 votes (10.91%) behind SWAPO candidate and incumbent president

(75.25%). Hamutenya was placed at the top of RDP's

electoral list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

and was one of eight RDP members elected to the National Assembly of Namibia. In September 2010, Hamutenya and eight other opposition politicians were sworn-in as members of the National Assembly following a six-month boycott due to electoral irregularities in the 2009 election. The RDP performed poorly in the 2014 general election, and Hamutenya subsequently faced pressure from within the party to retire. He said in March 2015 that he was retiring, leaving the way open for the party to elect a new leader, although he shortly afterward claimed he had been forced to retire against his will. He attempted to claim a parliamentary seat when the National Assembly began meeting for its new term in March 2015, but later opted against taking a seat paving the way for his return to SWAPO.

Death and legacy

Hamutenya collapsed at a family wedding in September 2016. After several weeks in hospital, he died in the morning hours of 6 October. Hidipo Hamutenya was one of the leading diplomats of the struggle for the

independence of Namibia The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

. He supervised the composition of Namibia's

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

, "

Namibia, Land of the Brave "Namibia, Land of the Brave" is the national anthem of Namibia, adopted in December 1991. It was written by Axali Doëseb, who was the director of a traditional music group from the Kalahari desert. Doëseb was chosen to write it after winning a ...

" while serving as chairman of the National Symbols subcommittee. While

Axali Doëseb Axali Doëseb (1954 – 27 October 2023) was a Namibian music composer. He wrote and composed "Namibia, Land of the Brave", which has been the national anthem of the country since 1991. He also served as conductor of the Namibian National Symphony ...

is commonly credited with writing both its music and text, Hamutenya in 2006 claimed that he authored the lyrics himself. Doëseb denied the claim. As Minister of Foreign Affairs portfolio, he was the first to engage in

economic diplomacy Economic diplomacy is a form of diplomacy that uses the full spectrum of economic tools of a state to achieve its national interests. The scope of economic diplomacy can encompass all of the international economic activities of a state, including, ...

for Namibia. Hamutenya was buried at Heroes' Acre in Windhoek.

Awards

* African Personality of the Year (2003), awarded by fDi, a subsidiary of the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

for "his efforts to bring in foreign investment" during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamutenya, Hidipo 1939 births 2016 deaths Information ministers of Namibia Trade and industry ministers of Namibia Foreign ministers of Namibia Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Candidates for President of Namibia Ovambo people People from Ohangwena Region SWAPO politicians Rally for Democracy and Progress (Namibia) politicians Namibian expatriates in Canada Namibian expatriates in the United States Namibian expatriates in Zambia Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni Sofia University alumni Syracuse University alumni McGill University alumni Augustineum Secondary School alumni