Gerhard Karl Hans Tötemeyer (21 May 1935 – 31 January 2024) was a Namibian academic and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as deputy minister of local government from 2000 to 2004.

Life and career

Gerhard Karl Hans Tötemeyer was born in Gibeon, and spent the first four years of his life in

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

, where his father worked as a missionary. When World War II broke out in September 1939, his family was on vacation in Germany, where they remained until 1950. At that time Tötemeyer spoke neither English nor

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

, the official languages of

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

. He did not continue school owing to his language difficulties; the principal would have "placed him in so low a grade that ewould have been frustrated". Tötemeyer took up vocational training as a merchant at his uncle's general dealership and caught up with school after hours. When he finished his training in 1953, he entered Paul Roos Gymnasium in

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

, and matriculated in 1955. He then studied History at the University of Stellenbosch on a stipend awarded by the Administration of South West Africa. He graduated with a B Hons in 1959 and acquired the Secondary School teacher's diploma in 1960. Tötemeyer returned to South West Africa and taught at Windhoek High School in 1961 and 1962. Afterwards he took up a research post at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, Germany, and obtained a D Phil from the University of Stellenbosch in 1974. Before entering politics he held several academic and administrative positions at the universities of Stellenbosch, the

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River, he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

, and

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. In 1987, shortly before Namibian Independence, he moved to

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, which ...

and became Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Science at the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, and the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the following fac ...

. After independence in 1990, Tötemeyer was a member of the first Delimitation Commission of Namibia, a body that infrequently decides on the administrative division of the country. He was director of elections between 1992 and 1998, became a member of Parliament in 2000 and was appointed deputy minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development. He retired in 2004 due to health concerns. Tötemeyer frequently published on politics and education in South Africa and Namibia. From 2005 Tötemeyer was chairman of National Housing Enterprise, a state-owned company providing housing for the poor. On 31 January 2024, Tötemeyer's body was discovered at his home. It is suspected that he died from a heart attack. He was 88.

References

External links

* The African Activist Archive Project website includes the conference paper by Gerhard Tötemeyer for the conference NAMIBIA, AFRICA'S LAST COLONY: PROSPECTS FOR FREEDOM AND DEVELOPMENT at the University of Vermont, 5–6 April 1982
THE NAMIBIAN LIBERATION STRUGGLE - the black cause and white obligation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Totemeyer, Gerhard 1935 births 2024 deaths People from Hardap Region White Namibian people Namibian people of German descent SWAPO politicians Members of the 3rd National Assembly of Namibia Alumni of Paul Roos Gymnasium Stellenbosch University alumni University of Freiburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Namibia