Geingob, Hage Gottfried (1941– )

Namibian politician, the first prime minister of an independent Namibia 1990–2002. He spent the period from 1963 outside Namibia, in Botswana and the USA, as a representative of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and working for the UN. In 1989 he returned to Namibia as the head of SWAPO's election campaign and played a leading role in drawing up the post-independence constitution. He was removed as prime minister in August 2002 by President Sam Nujoma.

Geingob qualified as a schoolteacher before gaining a Masters degree in political science in the USA in 1974. He played a major role in SWAPO, as its representative in Botswana 1963–34, and as a petitioner to the United Nations 1964–71 to obtain international recognition for SWAPO. In 1975 he was the founding director of the UN Institute for Namibia in Lusaka, educating future administrators for an independent Namibia, holding the post until 1989.