Sam Nujoma

His Excellency Sam Nujoma
Nujoma in 2004
1st President of Namibia
In office 21 March 1990 – 21 March 2005
Prime Minister	Hage Geingob (1990–2002) Theo-Ben Gurirab (2002–2005)
Preceded by	office established
Succeeded by	Hifikepunye Pohamba
President of SWAPO
In office 19 April 1960 – 29 November 2007
Preceded by	office established
Succeeded by	Hifikepunye Pohamba
President of OPO
In office 19 April 1959 – 19 April 1960
Preceded by	office established
Succeeded by	office abolished
Personal details
Born	Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma (1929-05-12) 12 May 1929 (age 94) Ongandjera, Ovamboland, South West Africa (now Omusati Region, Namibia)
Political party	SWAPO, OPO
Spouse	Kovambo Mushimba ​ (m. 1956)​
Children	Utoni Daniel (born 1952) John Ndeshipanda (1955-1993) Sakaria Nefungo (born 1957) Nelago (1959–1961)
Alma mater	University of Namibia
Religion	Lutheran
Website	www.samnujomafoundation.org

Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma,^[1] (/nuːˈjoʊmə/; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first president of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in 1960. Prior to 1960, SWAPO was known as the Ovambo People's Organisation (OPO). He played an important role as leader of the national liberation movement in campaigning for Namibia's political independence from South African rule. He established the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) in 1962 and launched a guerrilla war against the apartheid government of South Africa in August 1966 at Omugulugwombashe, beginning after the United Nations withdrew the mandate for South Africa to govern the territory. Nujoma led SWAPO during the lengthy Namibian War of Independence, which lasted from 1966 to 1989.

During World War I, South Africa defeated the German colonial forces in South West Africa and established martial law in the colony after making a peace treaty in July 1915. After the war, the League of Nations officially assigned the former German colony to the United Kingdom as a mandate under the administration of South Africa. When the National Party won the 1948 election in South Africa, it passed laws establishing racial segregation known as apartheid. It applied these laws to South West Africa as well, which it governed as the de facto fifth province of South Africa.

Nujoma became involved in anti-colonial politics during the 1950s. In 1959, he cofounded and served as the first president of the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO), a nationalist organization advocating an independent Namibia. In December 1958 he was an organizer of the Old Location resistance and was arrested and deported to Ovamboland. In 1960 he escaped and went into exile in Tanzania where he was welcomed by Julius Nyerere.

Namibia finally achieved independence from South Africa in 1990, holding its first democratic elections. SWAPO won a majority and Nujoma was elected as the country's first President on 21 March 1990. He was re-elected for two more terms in 1994 and 1999. Nujoma retired as SWAPO party president on 30 November 2007.

He published his autobiography Where Others Wavered in 2005. He has received multiple honors and awards for his leadership, including the Lenin Peace Prize, Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, and the Ho Chi Minh Peace Prize. The Parliament of Namibia honored him with the titles "Founding President of the Republic of Namibia" and "Father of the Namibian Nation". In 2007 SWAPO named him as "Leader of the Namibian Revolution."