South West Africa People's Organization
- South West Africa People's Organization
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political party in Namibia (formerly South West Africa) that advocated immediate Namibian independence from South Africa and became the country's leading party following independence in 1990. It was founded in 1960, and, after South Africa refused a United Nations order to withdraw from the trust territory in 1966, SWAPO turned to armed struggle. SWAPO's greatest political strength lay among the Ovambo people in the northern part of the territory. Led by Sam Nujoma (
Nujoma, Sam) and backed by the Angolan ruling party, Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, and the Soviet Union, SWAPO used Angola as a base for guerrilla warfare on Namibian soil; operations were carried out by SWAPO's guerrilla force, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (
PLAN). Beginning in 1978 South Africa made periodic retaliatory land and air strikes into Angola. Herman Toivo ja Toivo, the founder of SWAPO, was imprisoned in South Africa for a 20-year term in 1968 but was released in 1984. Nujoma returned to Namibia in September 1989.
In 1978 the UN recognized SWAPO as the sole representative of the people of Namibia. Both SWAPO and South Africa agreed to a UN plan for a cease-fire, withdrawal of South African troops, and free elections to be guaranteed by UN security forces. After years of diplomatic maneuvering, South Africa finally accepted a UN resolution to that effect in December 1988. Sporadic fighting continued. In 1989 Nujoma was elected president and SWAPO won a majority of the delegates selected by the country's voters to write a constitution for an independent Namibia. The following year a new constitution was adopted and Nujoma took office. SWAPO continued to dominate the political scene into the 21st century, transforming itself from a liberation movement into a governing party.
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Universalium.
2010.
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South West Africa People's Organization — [ saʊθ west æfrɪkə piːplz ɔːgənaɪ zeɪʃn], Abkürzung SWAPO, südwestafrikanische Volksunion; politische Organisation in Namibia; 1960 als Befreiungsorganisation gegründet; hervorgegangen aus der Ovamboland People s Organization. 1964 von der OAU… … Universal-Lexikon
South West Africa People's Organization — The South West Africa People s Organization (SWAPO) is a political party and former liberation movement in Namibia. It has been the governing party in Namibia since independence in 1990. For electoral purposes, it is referred to as the SWAPO… … Wikipedia
South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) — Party in South West Africa (now Namibia) that advocated immediate independence from South Africa. Founded in 1960, it used diplomacy to attain its goals until 1966, when it turned to armed struggle. Led by Sam Nujoma and backed by the Angolan… … Universalium
South West Africa People's Organization — … Useful english dictionary
SWAPO sigla de South West Africa People's Organization — (Organización del Pueblo de África del Sudoeste) Partido de África del Sudoeste (actual Namibia) que abogó por la inmediata independencia de Sudáfrica. Fue fundado en 1960 y usó la diplomacia para conseguir sus fines hasta 1966, año en que optó… … Enciclopedia Universal
National Party of South-West Africa — Headquarters South West Africa Politics of Namibia Political parties Elections … Wikipedia
German South-West Africa — Deutsch Südwestafrika German colony 1884–1915 … Wikipedia
South West African Territorial Force — The South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) was the forerunner of the Namibian Defence Force and was basically an extension or auxiliary of the South African Defence Force to combat the SWAPO insurgency. It was formed on 1 August 1980 from… … Wikipedia
Ovamboland People's Organization — The Ovamboland People s Organization is a defunct nationalist organization that advocated an independent Ovamboland (Namibia). Andimba Toivo ya Toivo and Sam Nujoma founded the OPO in 1959. A year later, the organization sought a pan ethnic… … Wikipedia
west — /west/, n. 1. a cardinal point of the compass, 90° to the left when facing north, corresponding to the point where the sun is seen to set. Abbr.: W 2. the direction in which this point lies. 3. (usually cap.) a region or territory situated in… … Universalium
