President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia
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Pohamba is almost guaranteed to win.
Pohamba has retained a remarkably low profile.
Pohamba has never expressed ambition to be president, until quite recently.
Pohamba is a close friend of the president, and has similar liberation-struggle credentials.
But certainly Nujoma is the more dominant force in that relationship, whereas Pohamba has always been a kind of follower of Nujoma, rather than a sort of leadership politician in his own right.
Pohamba takes the office of president come March next year, that office in itself has a number of challenges that it will put on him," he said.
Pohamba has named several key issues he hopes to focus on during his presidency, including improving the economy and the education system.
Pohamba has been clear about the need to redress that imbalance.
Pohamba was elected with a large majority and was sworn in on 21 March 2005.
Pohamba was accordingly elected unopposed as SWAPO President on 29 November 2007 at a party congress.
homosexuals, whites, and his political ennemies among others.
Hifikepunye Pohamba is equally the President of SWAPO since November 2007 et is up for reelection in 2009.
Hifikepunye Pohamba was born in Okanghudi in the region of Ohangwena in the central north of South West Africa under the South African mandate.
After his finishing studies in a local anglican mission, Pohamba found a job working as a secretary for a mining company.
Speaking at Swapo rally held in Walvis Bay on Saturday, Pohamba said these vices had destroyed other countries.
Pohamba said instead, the virtues of honesty, transparency, fairness and tolerance should be promoted as these are the building blocks for a brighter, peaceful and prosperous nation.
A political prisoner, who was whipped in public for his activism, and who has pushed through Namibia's land reform, Hifikepunye Pohamba is expected to keep the status quo, after his election as president.
Born on 18 August, 1935, at Okanghudi in northern Namibia, Mr Pohamba was educated by missionaries.
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BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Profile: Hifikepunye PohambaNamibia's new leader Hifikepunye Pohamba is expected to keep the status quo.
At the age of 25, Pohamba was a founding member of SWAPO in 1960.
Pohamba was selected as SWAPO's candidate for the 2004 presidential election at an extraordinary party congress held in May 2004.
Pohamba has been described as Nujoma's hand-picked successor.
Pohamba took office as president on March 21, 2005 and has since distinguished himself by careful but decisive moves against corruption.
On November 29 2007, Pohamba was elected as SWAPO President at a party congress; he was the only candidate to be nominated and no voting was deemed necessary.
Minister Pohamba was President Sam Nujoma's favourite candidate and is believed to continue on SWAPO's radicalisation.
As Lands Minister, Mr Pohamba has been able to demonstrate that he is serious in the government's attempt to speed up land reform and redistribute lands from the white minority to the black majority of Namibians.
I will devote my time to the improvement of the well-being of the Namibian people and the preservation of peace and democracy, Mr Pohamba was quoted as saying in his acceptance speech by 'The Namibian.
In his victory speech, President-elect Pohamba said he was humbled by the five-year mandate given to him and promised to be a full-time servant of the Namibian people irrespective of their political background.
Mr Pohamba said he was deeply touched by the comments of various opposition party leaders who not only accepted defeat but also promised to work with his Government for the next five years.
On March 21, 2005, Hifikepunye Pohamba was sworn in as the president of Namibia, succeeding Sam Nujoma, who had decided not to seek a fourth term in office.
Pohamba had cruised to a landslide victory in the presidential election of November 2004, garnering 76% of the vote.
Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba was born on Aug 18, 1935, in the district of Okanghudi in northern Namibia.
In 1969 Pohamba was elected a member of SWAPOs Central Committee and made deputy administrative secretary of the party.
Pohamba was inaugurated in March 2005 in conjunction with celebrations marking the country's fifteenth anniversary.
Pohamba was elected President with 76.
stern action against those implicated in corrupt activities.
among our people so that they can fight corruption in their own localities.
Returning to Namibia several times, Pohamba was repeatedly deported and jailed; he moved around Africa and assumed various SWAPO leadership posts.
Pohamba had been groomed for the top job by Nujoma, who retired this year after 25 years as president of Namibia.
In his inauguration speech in March, Pohamba said the government would address graft "with a sledgehammer", which won him the respect of Namibian human rights groups.
Norman Tjombe, chairman of the Namibian NGO Forum, was also dismissive of a perceived rift between Nujoma and Pohamba on tackling corruption, but added that "Pohamba has merely been talking about corruption and has not done anything yet.
Namibia's president-in-waiting Hifikepunye Pohamba says expropriations of white farms are "going to happen" in his Southern African country but has pledged to "talk, talk, talk" to make them as painless as possible.
Pohamba was headed for victory following elections on Monday and Tuesday that were also set to hand the ruling South West African People's Organisation (Swapo) a strong majority in Parliament.
Pohamba said that his priorities for the future will be to foster "peace and stability" to ensure economic growth and develop education.
On a lighter note, Pohamba said he enjoys driving around the country with his wife, who still works as a nurse, and five children.
Pohamba said Namibia needs peace and stability, which are the most important building blocks for any successful and prosperous nation, because without them the country will not be able to achieve its development objectives.
On 21st March 2005, Hifikepunye Pohamba was inaugurated as the second president of Namibia, when Sam Nujoma vacated office at the end of his third five-year term.
Hifikepunye Pohamba was born on 18th August 1935 at Okanghudi in the Ohangwena Region of Namibia, in what was then known as Owamboland.
Pohamba is one of the old guard of the liberation struggle and of SWAPO (the South West African Peoples Organisation), having left Namibia to go into exile as early as 1961 after he was beaten by tribal authorities, who accused him of engaging in subversive activities.
Throughout the exile period, Pohamba was known as one of Nujomas most trusted colleagues and confidantes.
Nujoma's comrade-in-arms, Pohamba has the biggest challenge for an African president to solve during his mandate: agrarian reform in a country where most of the cultivable land is in the hands of the former colonizers' descendents.
Describing the deal as a success the Namibian leader, who celebrated his 73rd birthday last month, said there is no more reason to have the sanctions as the speeches delivered at the signing ceremony proved that all the leaders were committed to achieving peace and stability in the country.
The reasons are known to everyone and it is only a fool or an imbeccile who woould pardon such a clique and unfortunately Pohamba is trying to make himself an unannointed cheerleader.
THE Namibian President, Hifikepunye Pohamba has called on Western countries to lift illegal sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe.
Pohamba was abroad on gov business, but he should have been briefed or seen the minutes of that sesssion on return.
Though to some Zambians the name Hifikepunye Pohamba would appear strange, to veteran politicians like first president Kenneth Kaunda, Dr Rupiah Banda and former Air Commander General Peter Zuze, will tell you that Pohamba is not by any standard, a stranger in Zambia.
Apart from being a founding member of SWAPO, Mr Pohamba is Dr Sam Nujoma’s long-time comrade and was his right hand man in the struggle for Namibia’s independence.
President Pohamba is neither a stranger nor a new visitor to Zambia as the Namibian leader spent several years of his life during the liberation struggle in Lusaka.
In September 1964, Mr Pohamba was sent to Lusaka by the SWAPO leadership to open SWAPO offices and served in Zambia up to December 1969.
While in Zambia, Mr Pohamba was in charge of thousands of SWAPO supporters who settled at the Nyango refugee camp in the outskirts of Kaoma district in Western Province.
President Pohamba was easily elected after gathering an overwhelming 625,605 votes, or 76.
As founding member of SWAPO, Mr Pohamba was born in 1935 in the country’s Okanghudi district.
In June 1961, Mr Pohamba was arrested, detained and kept in chains at Ohangwena Tribal headquarters and after several days under detention, he was to appear before a tribal court on charges of political agitation and others.
At the Tanga SWAPO congress, Pohamba was elected member of the Central Committee and Deputy administrative secretary of SWAPO.
Dr Nujoma aptly stated at his farewell dinner that: “Our in-coming President, Comrade Hifikepunye Pohamba is a committed leader who has dedicated his young and adult life to the struggle for freedom, justice and independence of the Namibian people.
PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba has called upon all Namibians to respect the law during this year's national elections.
PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba has dropped a bombshell by giving political office bearers a 24 per cent salary increase.
Windhoek (Namibia) - President Hifikepunye Pohamba has come out in defence of unruly Swapo mobs who have attacked opposition Rally for Democracy and.
Launching the committee, President Hifikepunye Pohamba said its primary role would be to advise on the road map for combating gender-based violence at.
President Hifikepunye Pohamba is the head of state for Namibia.