{{short description|Namibian politician}} {{Infobox officeholder |image = |honorific_prefix = <small>The Honorable</small> |name = Ben Amathila |office = Minister of Information and Broadcasting |president = Sam Nujoma |deputy = |term_start = 1993 |term_end = 2000 |predecessor = Hidipo Hamutenya |successor = Theo-Ben Gurirab |office1 = Minister of Trade and Industry |president1 = Sam Nujoma |deputy1 = |term_start1 = 21 March 1990 |term_end1 = 1993 |predecessor1 = position established |successor1 = Hidipo Hamutenya |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|10|01|df=y}} |birth_place = Walvis Bay, Erongo Region |spouse = Libertina Amathila |children = |party = SWAPO |occupation = Politician }} '''Ben Amathila''' (born 1 October 1938 in Walvis Bay)<ref name=Parliament>{{Cite web | title= Amathila Ben | publisher = Parliament of Namibia | access-date=4 May 2022 | url=https://www.parliament.na/dt_team/amathila-ben-5/}}</ref> is a retired Namibian politician. Amathila served in the government of Namibia with SWAPO from independence in 1990 until his retirement in April 2007.
From 1990 to 1993 he served as Minister of Trade and Industry. In 1993 he was moved against his will to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and served as minister until 2000. In 2000, president Sam Nujoma dismissed him from his cabinet post. He retained his seat in the National Assembly until his resignation in 2007, citing concerns with his party. Internationally, Amathila is a member of the Pan-African Parliament.<ref name="NID">{{cite web |url=http://www.nid.org.na/view_book_entry.php?book_id=197 |title=Who's Who, entry for Ben Amathila |last=Hopwood |first=Graham |year=2007 |work=Guide to Namibian Politics |publisher=Namibia Institute for Democracy |accessdate=24 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611171117/http://www.nid.org.na/view_book_entry.php?book_id=197 |archivedate=11 June 2011 }}</ref>
Amathila was re-elected to the SWAPO Central Committee at the party's August 2002 congress, placing eighth with 369 votes,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030309015526/http://www.namibian.com.na/2002/august/news/027EBA9751.html "The ruling party's new Central Committee"], ''The Namibian'', August 27, 2002.</ref> and he was again elected to the Central Committee at SWAPO's November 2007 congress.<ref>Christof Maletsky, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080708223119/http://www.namibian.com.na/2007/December/national/07D12794AF.html "Swapo big names dropped"], ''The Namibian'', December 3, 2007.</ref> He is a Permanent Member of the SWAPO Central Committee and a Permanent Member of the SWAPO Polit Bureau.
== Namibian War of Independence == {{BLP unreferenced section|date=April 2024}} Amathila began working towards Namibian independence in 1959 with the forerunner to SWAPO, the Ovamboland People's Organization. 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 in 1969. Shortly afterwards, Amathila became SWAPO's representative in Scandinavia then the movement's Secretary for Economics in Lusaka than Luanda.
==Education History == Amathila was educated at the Augustineum Training College, Okahandja (1954 – 1958); then Rhenish Missionary School, Tsumeb (1954); .
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://nai.uu.se/library/resources/liberation-africa/interviews/ben-amathila.html Interview with Ben Amathila by Tor Sellström within the project Nordic Documentation on the Liberation Struggle in Southern Africa] – dated 19 May 1995.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amathila, Ben}} Category:1938 births Category:Living people Category:People from Walvis Bay Category:Ovambo people Category:SWAPO politicians Category:Trade and industry ministers of Namibia Category:Information ministers of Namibia Category:Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Category:Members of the Pan-African Parliament from Namibia Category:Augustineum Secondary School alumni