Petrus "Piet" Matheus Junius (1941 – 3 April 2021) was a

Namibian This is a demography of the population of Namibia including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population Census results As r ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the Deputy Education Minister of the Interim Namibian Government from 1985 to 1989. Junius also served as vice-president of the Democratic Turnhalle Association between 1985 and 1989.

Life and death

Junius was born in Rehoboth,

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

in 1941. Junius attended the Teachers Training College in

Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, graduating with a diploma. He went on to work as both a farmer and a teacher in Namibia.''Junius, Petrus Matheus.'' In: ''Africa Who's Who.'' Africa Books, London 1991, S. 856. In 1971, alongside

Ben Africa Ben Africa (born 13 October 1938) is a Namibian politician, medical doctor, and former Baster captain. Africa is most notable for serving as the fourth Captain of the Baster and his tenure as vice-president of the Democratic Turnhalle Allian ...

and

John McNab John McNab (1934/1935 - 3 October 2020) was a Namibian politician who served as Rehoboth Baster captain from 1999 until 2020. Life and death John McNab was born around the Rehoboth area of South West Africa in 1934 or 1935. His grandfather was ...

, Junius founded the Rehoboth Baster Association (RBA). The RBA sought to represent

Baster The Basters (also known as Baasters, Rehobothers, or Rehoboth Basters) are a Southern African ethnic group descended from Cape Coloureds and Nama of Khoisan origin. Since the second half of the 19th century, the Rehoboth Baster community has ...

interests in the Rehoboth region. In 1977, the RBA merged with the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance to create the

Popular Democratic Movement The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front ...

. Junius served as the Deputy Minister for National Education and Public Service in the cabinet of the

Transitional Government of National Unity Transitional Government of National Unity may refer to: * Transitional Government of National Unity (Chad), a government in Chad between 1979 and 1982 * Transitional Government of National Unity (Namibia), a government in South West Africa (Namibia ...

between 1985 and 1989. Throughout the same period, Junius served as vice-chairman of the Democratic Turnhalle Association (DTA). He was expelled from the RBA in 1986, becoming the leader of the Progressive People's Party in the same year. In 1989, Junius founded, and became president of, the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

. At the same time, he became a member of the Namibian Constituent Assembly. From 1990 to 2003, Junius was a member of the Namibian

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

, the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, representing the DTA. In 2018, Junius was elected as the president of the United People's Movement - the political organization of the Baster people. On 3 April 2021, Junius died from a

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

-induced heart attack, in

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

, at the age of 79. He was buried on his Kurunab farmstead, about 37 miles south of Rehoboth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junius, Piet 1941 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Namibian politicians People from Rehoboth, Namibia Politicians from Hardap Region 21st-century Namibian politicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia