Ben Amathila is a semi-retired Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

n politician. Amathila served in the government of Namibia with SWAPO from independence in 1990 until his retirement from the National Assembly

National Assembly of Namibia

The National Assembly of Namibia is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It has a total of 78 members. 72 members are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms. Six additional members are appointed by the President.The...

 in April 2007. From 1990 to 1993, he served as Minister of Trade and Industry then, after resisting the change, became the Minister of Information and Broadcasting (1993–2000). In 2000, he became one of the few government ministers in Namibia to be dropped from the Cabinet by President Sam Nujoma

Sam Nujoma

Samuel Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma is a Namibian politician who was the first President of Namibia from 1990 to 2005. He led the South-West Africa People's Organisation in its long struggle against South African rule and took office as President when Namibia obtained independence on 21 March 1990...

. He retained his seat the Assembly until his resignation in 2007, citing concerns with his party. He is still a member of SWAPO's Politburo

Politburo

Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...

. Internationally, Amathila is a member of the Pan-African Parliament

Pan-African Parliament

The Pan-African Parliament , also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union and held its inaugural session in March 2004. The PAP exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, lasting for the first five years...

.

Amathila was re-elected to the SWAPO Central Committee at the party's August 2002 congress, placing eighth with 369 votes, and he was again elected to the Central Committee at SWAPO's November 2007 congress.

Namibian War of Independence

Amathila began working towards Namibian independence in 1959 with the forerunner to SWAPO, the Ovamboland People's Organization

Ovamboland People's Organization

The Ovamboland People's Organization is a defunct nationalist organization that advocated an independent Ovamboland . Andimba Toivo ya Toivo and Sam Nujoma founded the OPO in 1959...

. He helped mobilizing support for SWAPO from 1959 until going into exile in 1966. He then was instrumental in organizing SWAPO's consultative congress at Tanga, Tanzania

Tanga, Tanzania

Tanga is both the name of the most northerly seaport city of Tanzania, and the surrounding Tanga Region. It is the Regional Headquarters of the region.With a population of 243,580 in 2002, Tanga is one of the largest cities in the country...

 in 1969. Shortly afterwards, Amathila became SWAPO's representative in Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 then the movement's Secretary for Economics in Lusaka

Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...

 than Luanda

Luanda

Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...

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Personal

Amathila is the owner of a farm near Omaruru

Omaruru

Omaruru may refer to:* Omaruru, Namibia* Omaruru Constituency* Omaruru River...

, where he plans to spend his retirement. He is married to the first Black Namibian female physician and fellow politician, Libertina Amathila. Amathila was educated in Okahandja

Okahandja

Okahandja is a town of 14,000 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the Garden Town of Namibia. It is located 70km north of Windhoek on the B1 road...

 then Tsumeb

Tsumeb

Tsumeb is a city of 15,000 inhabitants and the largest town in Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb is the home of the world-famous Tsumeb mine, and the "gateway to the north" of Namibia. It is the closest town to the Etosha National Park...

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