The coastal regions of Namibia were explored by the Dutch and Portuguese in the 15th century, by the English in the 18th century and by German missionaries in the 1840s. In 1884, the German government claimed the settlement at Luderitz as the centre of a protectorate which extended over the whole of what is Namibia, then known as South West Africa. A major uprising in 1908 by two of the indigenous tribes, the Nama and Herero, was put down by the Germans at the cost of 100,000 lives.

During World War I, the territory was occupied by the South Africans, who were granted a League of Nations mandate to administer the territory after the end of the war. The history of Namibia from the foundation of the United Nations in 1945 to independence in 1991 was dominated by the repeated refusal of the South African government to convert their League of Nations mandate to administer the country into a UN trusteeship, or indeed to recognise that the UN, or any other organisation, had a legitimate interest in the region.

In 1977, the five Western members of the Security Council began negotiations aimed at bringing about the implementation of Resolution 435, providing for UN supervised elections. Progress was very slow but, in 1988, the South Africans and Cubans agreed to withdraw their troops from Angola (see Angola section) as an essential preparatory step before a Namibia settlement, which quickly followed. Despite some initial problems with the demobilisation of the main political party, SWAPO (South West African People’s Organisation), and the South African forces in Namibia, the peace process developed more or less as planned. Elections were held in November 1989, with SWAPO taking 57 per cent of the votes, sufficient for an overall majority but less than the two-thirds for which the party was hoping to enable them to rewrite the UN-sponsored constitution.

The main rival to SWAPO, the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance led by Dirk Mudge, made a strong showing amongst whites and areas populated by groups nervous of the Ovambo dominance of SWAPO. Although there were some complaints about alleged inefficiency and corruption, SWAPO had jettisoned much of its revolutionary rhetoric, knowing that Namibia’s future prosperity depended on overcoming the former divisions between different elements in the country. For that reason, as much as anything else, social transformation has been slow: in particular, the economy has remained largely in the hands of its previous white ownership. The continuing weakness of the opposition means, however, that SWAPO’s position is not under threat, and the party has secured comfortable majorities at subsequent elections in 1994 and 1999. A second opposition party, the Congress of Democrats enjoys a similar level of support – around 10 per cent – to that of the Turnhalle Alliance.

In the autumn of 2002, President Nujoma (who stood down in March 2005) began to address the issue of land reform. This is a sore issue for many blacks who have seen little change in the pattern of ownership since independence; half of the country’s agricultural land is owned by a few thousand white farmers. The new president, Hifikepunye Pohamba, is a long time confidante of Nujoma and planned to follow similar policies to his predecessor. Like Nujoma, Pohamba was committed to the principle of sale and purchase by consent, a policy also followed in Zimbabwe until expropriations began, but faced growing agitation for change. A change of policy in 2004 led to an initial group of 20 farms being listed for compulsory purchase in 2005.

As with much else, Namibia’s foreign relations are dominated by South Africa. The outstanding post-independence territorial issue between the two countries was the status of Walvis Bay, which South Africa maintained possession of. Following negotiations with Pretoria, the port was returned to Namibian jurisdiction in February 1993. Similarly, the dozen offshore islands which Namibia also claimed have been ceded. Namibia is a member of the Southern African Development Community, and has been engaged in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the side of Laurent Kabila (see Congo, Democratic Rep of section).

Under the Constitution which took effect upon independence in March 1990, executive authority rests with the President, who is directly elected for a five-year term. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly with 78 members, 72 of whom are elected for five years while the remainder are presidential nominees (in May 1997, the Constitution was exceptionally amended to allow the incumbent President to seek a third term of office).