Namibia's President Hage G. Geingob, a prominent figure in the country's struggle for independence from apartheid-era South Africa, later becoming the country's first prime minister and long-serving head of state, died early Sunday. He was 82 years old.
presidential palace announced his death This was said in a statement on social media attributed to Vice President N'Golo Mbumba, who is currently acting as president.
Geingob, who took office in 2015 and had been undergoing treatment for cancer in recent weeks, died shortly after midnight at a hospital in the capital Windhoek, the statement said.
He served as Namibia's first prime minister from 1990 to 2002, when Namibia became independent. He served as prime minister again until he was elected president ten years later.
Geingob was born on August 3, 1941 in the city of Otjiwarongo, then part of South West Africa.
In his 20s, he lived in exile in Botswana and then in the United States, where he fought for Namibia's independence and served as leader of the People's Organization of South West Africa, the organization that later became the country's ruling party.
While in the United States, he studied at Fordham University in New York City and later earned a master's degree in International Relations from the New School, also in New York.
After independence, Geingob helped lead the country out of the apartheid era. Among other duties, he oversaw the drafting of the country's new constitution as president of the Constituent Assembly.
“Like other SWAPO leaders, I was well aware that Namibian society was divided by years of apartheid and racial stratification in the provision of services and opportunities,” he later said in the drafting process. I am writing about. Therefore, he continued, “My first task was to promote a spirit of consultation, mutual respect and reconciliation.”
Geingob was elected president in 2014 after serving twice as prime minister. He was re-elected in 2019 and was serving his second term at the time of his death.
Namibia's next election is due to be held later this year, and Geingob's ruling SWAPO party has chosen Netumbo Nnamdi N'Ditwa as its candidate for prime minister. If she wins, she will become the country's first female president.
Geingob is survived by his wife and children, the presidential palace said in a statement.
