Niko Bessinger was a 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 and independence activist.

Bessinger was born on 12 June 1948 in Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay , is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies...

, South West Africa

South West Africa

South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....

. He studied at St. Bonifacius Roman Catholic Primary School

Roman Catholicism in Namibia

The Roman Catholic Church in Namibia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome....

, Augustineum Secondary School and matriculated at Athlone High School in Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 in 1966. He then studied architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 at the University of Cape Town

University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...

 before receiving a Fulbright grant

Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...

 to study at the University of Detroit in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Bessinger joined SWAPO in 1972 and became treasurer of the Windhoek

Windhoek

Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...

 office in 1976. He became national treasurer a year later. From 1981 until just prior to independence in 1990, Bessinger was SWAPO's internal secretary for foreign affairs. During this time, he was arrested several times by South African authorities. Upon independence in 1990, he was elected to the National Assembly

Members of the 1st National Assembly of Namibia

Below is a list of the 1st National Assembly of the Republic of Namibia. The members were in the National Assembly from independence in 21 March 1990 until the 1994 elections.-Selection:Members are chosen by their parties...

 and chosen 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...

 as the first Minister of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism

Tourism in Namibia

Tourism in Namibia is a major industry, contributing N$7,2 billion to the country's gross domestic product. Annually, nearly one million travelers visit Namibia, with roughly one in three coming from South Africa, then Germany and finally the United Kingdom, Italy and France...

. He was elected to the National Assembly

Members of the 2nd National Assembly of Namibia

Below is a list of the 2nd National Assembly of the Republic of Namibia. The members were in the National Assembly from the 1994 election to 1999 election. Members are chosen by their parties...

 again in 1994

Namibian general election, 1994

General elections were held in Namibia on 4 and 5 December 1994. There were two votes, one for president and one for the National Assembly...

 before resigning in 1996, when he was replaced by Marlene Mungunda

Marlene Mungunda

Marlene Mungunda is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization, Mungunda has been the Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare since March 2005.- References :...

. He remained on the SWAPO Party Central Committee until 2007. Bessinger died of a heart attack on 25 March, 2008 at his home in the Khomasdal

Khomasdal

Khomasdal is a suburb of Namibia's capital of Windhoek in the Khomas Region. Founded as Windhoek's residential area for Coloured people, Khomasdal still is primarily composed of Coloured people....

, Windhoek. At the time of his death, he also had cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

.