Gert Hanekom

{{Short description|Namibian politician (1930–1999)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder |honorific_prefix = <small>The Honourable</small> |name = Gert Hanekom |caption = |order =

|birth_date = {{Birth date text|30 March 1930}} |birth_place = Redelinghuys, South Africa |death_date = {{Death date and age|2 December 1999|30 March 1930}} |death_place = Windhoek, Namibia |party = 24px SWAPO |relations = |children = 3 |alma_mater = |occupation = |profession = |signature = |website = |footnotes = }}

'''Gerhardus Jacobus 'Gert' Hanekom''' (30 March 1930—2 December 1999), affectionately known as '''Oom Gert''' ({{langx|af|Uncle Gert}}), was a Namibian politician serving in several ministerial portfolios.

==Biography== Hanekom was born on 30 March 1930 in Redelinghuys in South Africa{{'s}} Western Cape.<ref name=Leistner>{{Cite book | title=Namibia 1990: An Africa Institute Country Survey | last1=Leistner | first1=Gerhard Max Erich | last2=Esterhuysen | first2=Pieter | publisher=Africa Institute of South Africa | year=1991 | page=227 | isbn=9780798301084 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UuUvAQAAIAAJ&q=gerhardus+hanekom}}</ref> He attended school there and graduated from the University of South Africa as a chartered accountant. He subsequently worked as accountant in the private sector.<ref name=Parliament>{{Cite web | title= Hanekom, Gerhardus J. | publisher = Parliament of Namibia | accessdate=23 April 2022 | url=https://www.parliament.na/dt_team/hanekom-j-gerhardus-2/}}</ref> In 1956 he took up accounting work in Windhoek<ref name=Leistner/> and founded ''Hanekom & Kie'' in 1975, an accounting company that developed into the local PricewaterhouseCoopers dependance.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Buchprüferriese feiert 40-jähriges Bestehen | trans-title=Accounting giant celebrates 40 years of existence | language=de | newspaper=Allgemeine Zeitung | date=20 October 2015 | url=https://www.az.com.na/nachrichten/buchprferriese-feiert-40-jhriges-bestehen}}</ref>

Although initially a member of the Afrikaner nationalist National Party (NP),<ref name=Parliament/> Hanekom disassociated with its apartheid policies over time. He and other NP members left and founded Action National Settlement in 1986, a party that later joined the National Patriotic Front.<ref name="Menges">{{cite news | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=2115&page=archive-read | title=Ex-NP stalwart Van Zijl dies | last=Menges | first=Werner | date=15 January 2009 | page=1 | newspaper=The Namibian | location=Windhoek | url-status=live | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130111215928/http://www.namibian.com.na/news-articles/national/full-story/archive/2009/january/article/ex-np-stalwart-van-zijl-dies/ | archivedate=11 January 2013}}</ref> Hanekom worked with SWAPO shortly before Namibian independence and joined the party in 1990.<ref name=State>{{Cite news | title=State to honour Hanekom | newspaper=The Namibian | date=8 December 1999 | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/archive19982004/1999/December/local/honour.html | archive-date=23 April 2022 | access-date=23 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423194919/https://www.namibian.com.na/archive19982004/1999/December/local/honour.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Hanekom joined the National Assembly in 1990 by appointment of president Sam Nujoma as Namibia's first Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.<ref name=State/> In 1992 he was moved to the finance portfolio, and in 1995 he became Minister of Environment and Tourism. He served until 1997 when he took over as head of the President's Economic Advisory Council.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Hanekom dies | last=Amupadhi | first=Tangeni | authorlink=Tangeni Amupadhi | newspaper=The Namibian | date=3 December 1999 | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/archive19982004/1999/December/local/hanekom.html | archive-date=23 April 2022 | access-date=23 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423194923/https://www.namibian.com.na/archive19982004/1999/December/local/hanekom.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Hanekom was ill with cancer and heart problems. He died on 2 December 1999 and was awarded a state funeral.<ref name=State/>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanekom, Gert}} Category:1930 births Category:1999 deaths Category:Politicians from the Western Cape Category:Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Category:SWAPO politicians Category:Environment and tourism ministers of Namibia Category:Finance ministers of Namibia Category:Agriculture ministers of Namibia