Hifikepunye Pohamba

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Hifikepunye Pohamba

2nd President of Namibia
Incumbent
Assumed office March 21, 2005
Preceded by	Sam Nujoma
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	August 18, 1935 Namibia
Political party	South-West Africa People's Organisation
Spouse	Penexupifo Pohamba

Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born August 18, 1935) is the second and current President of Namibia.

He is a member of the South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) ruling party who won the 2004 presidential election with 76.4% of the vote,^[1] in what has been described as a "landslide".^[2] He was backed by long-time president Sam Nujoma, who was then serving his third five-year term; Pohamba has been described as Nujoma's hand-picked successor.^[3] Pohamba took office as president on March 21, 2005^[4] and has since distinguished himself by careful but decisive moves against corruption. Prior to this, he was the Minister of public land.

[edit] Early political career

As a child, he was educated at an Anglican mission. At the age of 25, Pohamba helped found Swapo. He was arrested for his political activity but moved to Rhodesia, where he was deported soon afterwards. He then spent four months in prison in Namibia before spending two years in Ovamboland under house arrest. After he left prison, he went to Luanda to set up Swapo's Angolan office, and on his return, met the man who was later to become President, Sam Nujoma. Until the 1990s and Namibia's independence, Pohamba represented Swapo across Africa, although he studied politics in the former Soviet Union briefly. He headed Swapo's election campaign before becoming an MP in 1990, and then held the ministries of internal affairs, fisheries, marine resources and land affairs.