Sam Nujoma – A Chronology

• 1929 Born at Etunda in the Omusati region
• 1939 Starts formal schooling at age of ten
• 1945 Completes Standard Six at Okahao Finnish Mission School
• 1946 Moves to live with an aunt in Walvis Bay
• 1949 Moves to Windhoek and works for South African Railways
• 1956 Marries Kovambo Katjimune
• 1959 Chosen as the President of the Ovamboland People’s Organisation (OPO)
• 1959 Joins the executive committee of the South West Africa National Union (Swanu)
• 1960 Leaves Namibia in wake of the Old Location shootings
• 1960 Arrives in Tanganyika on March 21
• 1960 Visits Ghana and meets with President Kwame Nkrumah
• 1960 Chosen as founding President of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo)
• 1960 Arrives in New York to petition the UN for Namibian independence
• 1961 Returns to Tanzania and sets up Swapo headquarters there
• 1966 Returns to Windhoek to challenge South African claim that he was in ‘self-exile’. Deported 16 hours later
• 1969 Re-affirmed as Swapo President at Tanga Consultative Conference
• 1971 Becomes the first African liberation movement leader to address the UN Security Council
• 1973 Awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union Late 1970s – Leads Namibian delegation which negotiates UN Security Council Resolution 435, the framework for Namibian independence
• 1988 Signs ceasefire which ends liberation war
• 1989 Returns to Namibia and is given a hero’s welcome
• 1990 Constituent Assembly selects him as country’s president
• 1990 Sworn in as Namibia’s first President on March 21
• 1990 Receives the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize from India
• 1993 Appointed Chancellor of the University of Namibia (Unam)
• 1994 Wins 74% support in presidential poll
• 1995 Receives Grand Master of the Order of Welwitschia from Namibia
• 1995 Receives Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger
• 1998 Orders Namibian troops to fight on behalf of President Laurent Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
• 1999 Constitution changed to allow him to run for third term in office
• 1999 Wins 77% support in presidential poll
• 2001 His autobiography, ‘Where Others Wavered: My Life in Swapo and My Participation in the Liberation Struggle of Namibia’, is published
• 2001 Champions the construction of the Tsumeb-Oshikango railway line
• 2002 Makes widely publicised attack on British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a UN summit in South Africa
• 2004 Confirms he will retire as head of state in 2005; supports Hifikepunye Pohamba as his successor
• 2005 Given the official title ‘Founding Father of the Namibian Nation’ by parliament
• 2005 Commences studies for a masters degree in Geology at Unam
• 2007 Retires as President of Swapo
• 2007 Given the title ‘Leader of the Namibian Revolution’ by Swapo

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