Namibia
21 March 1990
- Sovereignty from
- South African occupation
- Marked as
- Independence Day
- Years sovereign
- 36
The struggle
German South West Africa carried out the genocide of the Herero and Nama in 1904–08, then passed to South Africa, which extended apartheid over the territory and refused to give up its mandate. SWAPO fought a 23-year war from 1966 while the International Court of Justice and the UN declared the occupation illegal. Independence came on 21 March 1990 after UN-supervised elections.
Key people
Samuel Maharero
1856–1923
Led Herero resistance to German colonisation
Hendrik Witbooi
1830–1905
Nama leader killed fighting the Germans in 1905
Sam Nujoma
1929–2025
Founded SWAPO; first president
Toivo ya Toivo
1924–2017
Founded the movement's precursor; imprisoned on Robben Island
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