Mr. Sam Nujoma was born in the north of the country in Entuda village. In 1948 he finished Okahao missionary primary school in Finland, learnt English in Walvis Bay, in 1954 – finished high school in Windhoek.
In 1949-1959 the future leader of the country worked in the Namibian branch of the South African Railways, then in the system of trade and other institutions of the capital.
In 1958 he was one of the initiators of the creation of the Ovamboland People's Organization.
In 1960 he became one of the founders of the SWAPO (South-West Africa People's Organization), which fought for the independence of Namibia from the Republic of South Africa.
Since 1971 – Supreme Commander of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia.
After holding free elections under the supervision of the UNO in 1989 and granting Namibia independence, Mr. Sam Nujoma was unanimously elected the first president of the country and sworn in by UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on March 21, 1990.
In 1998-1999 Nujoma signed agreements with the Russian company ALROSA on joint diamond exploration and mining (April 1998).
Interesting Facts
During his presidency Mr. Sam Nujoma was active in combating drought with international support. He expressed support for Robert Mugabe’s agrarian reform in Zimbabwe, maintained contacts with regimes considered outcast in the West: Cuba, Libya, Iran, North Korea, as well as with China. He recognized the Republic of Macedonia under its official name, has regulated relations with South Africa. Namibia opposed NATO actions in Kosovo, supported Laurent Kabila during the civil war in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo).