The President of Namibia, Hage Gneingbob, is dead aged 82. He was the longest serving Prime Minister and the third President of Namibia. He is survived by his wife Monica Geingos and their children. Leaders from around the world have sent their condolence messages.
He died in the early hours of Sunday at a Windhoek hospital. Recently, the President had been diagnosed with cancer and there were plans to seek treatment in the USA. His death was announced by Namibia’s Vice President Nangolo Mbumba.
He was a key figure in the liberation struggle against apartheid and colonialism.
“It is with utmost sadness and regret that we receive the news of the passing of his excellency president Dr. Hage G Geingob, the president of the Republic of Namibia, who died this morning in Windhoek,” Hichilema of Malawi posted on Facebook on Sunday.
Hage Gottfried Geingob was born in 1941. He started activism against South Africa’s apartheid government which was also ruling Namibia. He was driven into exile where he spent over 30 years in Botswana and USA.
He studied at Fordham University in New York and later received a doctorate degree from United Kingdom. While in the USA he continued advocating for Namibia’s independence.
While in the USA he represented SWAPO, current ruling party, at the United Nations and across the Americas.
In them 1970s, he started working for the UN with a focus on governance issues. He returned home to Namibia in 1989. The country gained its independence the following year.
“I embraced the soil of Namibia after 27 years in exile. Looking back, the journey of building a new Namibia has been worthwhile,” he said in a Twitter post in 2020.
He kissed the tarmac after landing in Windhoek. In 1990, he was appointed a Prime Minister of Namibia after SWAPO won the elections. He served in that position for 12 years.
In 2014, Hage Geinghob became President of Namibia. He also held senior positions as a minister as well as senior positions internally at SWAPO.
Geinghob was a soccer lover. As a youth, he played soccer and earned a nickname as “Danger Point”.
In 2013, the former president underwent a heart surgery and in June 2023, he underwent a heart valve surgery in South Africa.
In his private life, he was married 3 times in 1967, 1993 and 2015.
May his soul rest in peace!
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