The city of

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 ...

, the capital 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. ...

and later

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, was officially founded on 18 October 1890 by Curt Karl Bruno von François, an

Imperial German (, literally translated ) is an archaic term for those ethnic Germans who resided within the German state that was founded in 1871. In contemporary usage, it referred to German citizens, the word signifying people from the German ', i.e., Imp ...

Colonial Official in the ''

Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned a ...

.'' Its purpose was to serve as the capital of

German South West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...

. Since its establishment, the city has had 49 different mayors, with the first one assuming office in 1909.

List of Mayors

German Colonial Administration (1894–1915)

* 1909–1910: Dr. Fritsche, first mayor of Windhoek * 1910–1911: Gustav Voigts * 1911–1915: Peter Müller, born 1873, member of the ''Schutztruppe'', later businessman

South African Mandate (1915–1966)

* 1915–1916: Peter Müller, 1st time, born 1873, member of the ''Schutztruppe'', later businessman * 191?–1918: Dr. Kohler * 1920–1922: Peter Müller, 2nd time, born 1873, member of the ''Schutztruppe'', later businessman * 1927–1929: Joseph Wood, born 17 February 1876 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, a

Wesleyan Church The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church or Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a United States-based Christian denomination headquartered in Fishers, Indiana, with congregations across North America, th ...

minister. * 1929–1938: John Meinert, born 9 December 1886 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany. Businessman and founder of John Meinert Printing Ltd. * 19??–19??:

Edgar Sander Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Middle Ages; it was, however ...

, born 4 March 1895 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, Germany, entered Namibia in 1923. Sander farmed with Karakul skins and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of South-West Africa. * 19??–19??:

Abraham Bernard May Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

, 1st time, medical doctor and district surgeon * 1941–1946:

Marie Elizabeth May Bell Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French compose ...

, first female mayor of Windhoek * 1950s:

Simon Frank Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, born 11 October 1913 in

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Plac ...

, South Africa. Advocate Frank was mayor of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

before taking the post in Windhoek. * 1953–1954:

Peter Falk (Politician) Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/ABC series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he won four Prime ...

(1886–1974) * 1954–1955:

Willem Hendrik Immelmann Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, ...

, born 11 February 1904 in

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

, was a manager at Windhoek Universal Motors. * 1956–1957: Hermanus Johannes Steyn, born in 1890 in Ermelo,

Transvaal Colony The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...

. Steyn was an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and the leader of the National Party of South-West Africa. * 1957–1961: Jaap Snyman (Jacobus van Deventer Snyman), businessman, born 7 February 1919 in

Zeerust Zeerust is a commercial town situated in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district of North West Province, South Africa. It lies in the Marico valley, approximately 240 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. It lies on the N4, the main road link betwee ...

, South Africa. Snyman was the owner of the car that was set on fire during the

Old Location The Old Location (or as it was known then the Main Location) was an area Apartheid, 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. Histo ...

Uprising in December 1959, prompting the police to open fire at the protesters and killing 11 people. * 1961–1963: Stefanus Johannes Spies, born 26 June 1922 in

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ) is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Dubbed the "ostrich capital of the world", Oudtshoorn is known for its ostric ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He was a businessman and entered Namibia in 1945. * 1963–1965: Jack Levinson * 1965-196?:

Sam Davis Sam Davis (October 6, 1842 – November 27, 1863) was a Confederate soldier executed by Union forces in Pulaski, Tennessee as a spy, during the American Civil War. He is popularly known as the ''Boy Hero of the Confederacy'', although he was 21 ...

South African Occupation (1966–1990)

* 1966–1966: Hendrik Petrus Labuschagne (better known as Johann), a business man in the Motor Industry in Windhoek. Born 3 November 1920. * 19??–19??: Dries Yssel * 19??–19??: Joey Olivier * 19??–19??: Petra Hamman, 1st time * 19??–19??: Vivienne Graig-McLaren, 1st time * 1970–1971: Joachim Bernhard Hermann von Prittwitz und Gaffron, mechanical engineer, first Mayor from German nobility * 1974–1976: Günther Kaschik, born 16 January 1930 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, was a businessman and manager of the South-West African Buildings Society * 1988–1990:

, 2nd time (1912–1993)

Independent Namibia (1990–present)

* 1990–1991:

, 2nd time (1912–1993) * 1991–1992: Petra Hamman, 2nd time * 1993–1994: Matheus Shikongo (1950–2021), 1st time, first black Mayor * 1994–1995: Vivienne Graig-McLaren, 2nd time * 1995–1998: Björn Graf Finck von Finckenstein (1958–2021) * 1999-2000: Immanuel Ngatjizeko * 2000–2010: Matheus Shikongo (1950–2021), 2nd time, died from the COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia, longest-serving mayor of Windhoek * 2010–2012: Elaine Trepper * 2012–2014: Agnes Kafula * 2014–2019: Muesee Kazapua * 2019–2020: Fransina Kahungu * 2020–2021: Job Amupanda * 2021–2023: Sade Gawanas * 2023–2023 Joseph Uapingene * 2023–2025 Queen Kamati * 2025–present Ndeshihafela Larandja

References

Notes

Literature

* Brenda Bravenboer: ''Windhoek – Capital of Namibia''. Gamsberg-Macmillan, Windhoek 2004.

External links

Windhoek City Council
{{Years in Namibia Mayors of Windhoek