Otto Herrigel

Otto Herrigel (27 June 1937 – 13 May 2013) was a Namibian businessman, and politician. He served as Namibia's first Minister of Finance between 1990 and 1992.

Otto Herrigel
Minister of Finance
In office
21 March 1990  10 April 1992
PresidentSam Nujoma
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byGert Hanekom
Personal details
Born(1937-06-27)27 June 1937
Walvis Bay
Died13 May 2013(2013-05-13) (aged 75)
Windhoek
NationalityNamibia Namibian
Political party SWAPO
SpouseKarin Herrigel
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Heidelberg
University of Basel
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer
[1]

Herrigel was born in Walvis Bay and grew up in Swakopmund. He studied economics at University of Heidelberg, and in 1971 obtained a doctoral degree from University of Basel, his thesis was about the demographic and economic development of South West Africa since 1921.[2]

A member of SWAPO since before Independence of Namibia, Herrigel worked as a businessman and farmer, before he was appointed Namibia's first Minister of Finance on 21 March 1990. Prominent businessman and then-Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Harold Pupkewitz commented "Dr Herrigel [is a] man of decision-making abilities and sound judgement".[3] Herrigel resigned in 1992, reportedly due to differences with president Sam Nujoma over fiscal policy and the procurement of a presidential aircraft. Afterwards Herrigel was on the board of the Bank of Namibia (1998-2008), and on the board of directors of TransNamib (2001-2002).[4]

Herrigel and his wife Karin raised two GDR kids as foster children, children that were removed from their parents and brought up in the German Democratic Republic.[4]

References

  1. "Otto Herrigel verstorben". Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 17 May 2013. p. 3.
  2. Eriksen, Tore Linné; Moorsom, Richard (1989). United Nations Institute for Namibia (ed.). The Political Economy of Namibia: An Annotated Critical Bibliography. Norwegian foreign policy studies. Vol. 69. Nordic Africa Institute. p. 127. ISBN 9789171062970.
  3. Torreguitar, Elena (2009). National Liberation Movement in Office: Forging Democracy With African Adjectives in Namibia. European University Studies; Political Science. Vol. 567. Peter Lang. p. 398. ISBN 9783631579954.
  4. Menges, Werner (17 May 2013). "Former Finance Minister Otto Herrigel dies". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013.
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