Ben Amathila

Ben Amathila (born 1 October 1938 in Walvis Bay)[1] is a retired Namibian politician. Amathila served in the government of Namibia with SWAPO from independence in 1990 until his retirement in April 2007.

The Honorable
Ben Amathila
Minister of Information and Broadcasting
In office
1993–2000
PresidentSam Nujoma
Preceded byHidipo Hamutenya
Succeeded byTheo-Ben Gurirab
Minister of Trade and Industry
In office
21 March 1990 – 1993
PresidentSam Nujoma
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byHidipo Hamutenya
Personal details
Born (1938-10-01) 1 October 1938
Walvis Bay, Erongo Region
NationalityNamibian
Political partySWAPO
SpouseLibertina Amathila
OccupationPolitician

From 1990 to 1993 he served as Minister of Trade and Industry. In 1993 he was moved against his will to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and served as minister until 2000. In 2000, president Sam Nujoma dismissed him from his cabinet post. He retained his seat in the National Assembly until his resignation in 2007, citing concerns with his party. Internationally, Amathila is a member of the Pan-African Parliament.[2]

Amathila was re-elected to the SWAPO Central Committee at the party's August 2002 congress, placing eighth with 369 votes,[3] and he was again elected to the Central Committee at SWAPO's November 2007 congress.[4]

Namibian War of Independence

Amathila began working towards Namibian independence in 1959 with the forerunner to SWAPO, the Ovamboland People's Organization. He helped mobilizing support for SWAPO from 1959 until going into exile in 1966. He then was instrumental in organizing SWAPO's consultative congress at Tanga, Tanzania in 1969. Shortly afterwards, Amathila became SWAPO's representative in Scandinavia then the movement's Secretary for Economics in Lusaka than Luanda.

Personal life

Amathila was educated in Okahandja then Tsumeb. He is married to the first Black Namibian female physician and fellow politician, Libertina Amathila. He is the owner of a farm near Omaruru, where he plans to spend his retirement.

References
  1. "Amathila Ben". Parliament of Namibia. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  2. Hopwood, Graham (2007). "Who's Who, entry for Ben Amathila". Guide to Namibian Politics. Namibia Institute for Democracy. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  3. "The ruling party's new Central Committee", The Namibian, August 27, 2002.
  4. Christof Maletsky, "Swapo big names dropped", The Namibian, December 3, 2007.
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