Gerhard Karl Hans Tötemeyer (born 21 May 1935) is a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

and retired

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n politician who served as minister of local government between 2000 and 2004. He was born in Gibeon, and spent the first four years of his life in Keetmanshoop, where his father worked as a missionary. When World War II broke out in September 1939, his family was on vacation in Germany, where they remained until 1950. At that time Tötemeyer spoke neither English nor

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

, the official languages of

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

. He did not continue school owing to his language difficulties; the principal would have "placed him in so low a grade that ewould have been frustrated". He took up vocational training as a merchant at his uncle's general dealership and caught up with school after hours. When he finished his training in 1953, he entered

Paul Roos Gymnasium Paul Roos Gymnasium is a public, dual medium (Afrikaans & English) high school for boys in the town of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, and opened on the 1st of March 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium. It is the 12th oldest school in the c ...

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

, and

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

in 1955. He then studied History at the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

on a stipend awarded by the Administration of South West Africa. He graduated with a B Hons in 1959 and acquired the Secondary School teacher's diploma in 1960. Tötemeyer returned to South West Africa and taught at

Windhoek High School Windhoek High School (WHS) is a secondary school in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Popularly known as ‘’The Blue School’’, it was founded on 5 February 1917, making it one of the oldest existing schools in the country. Currently, WHS is ...

in 1961 and 1962. Afterwards he took up a research post at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and obtained a D Phil from the

in 1974. Before entering politics he held several academic and administrative positions at the universities of Stellenbosch, the

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ba ...

, and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. In 1987, shortly before Namibian Independence, he moved to

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 in 202 ...

and became Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Science at the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the follow ...

. After independence in 1990, Tötemeyer was a member of the first Delimitation Commission of Namibia, a body that infrequently decides on the administrative division of the country. He was Director of Elections between 1992 and 1998, became a Member of Parliament in 2000 and was appointed Deputy Minister of Local and Regional Government and Housing. He retired in 2004 due to health concerns. Tötemeyer frequently publishes on politics and education in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and Namibia. Since 2005 Tötemeyer has been Chairman of National Housing Enterprise, a state-owned company providing housing for the poor.

References

External links

* The African Activist Archive Project website includes the conference paper by Gerhard Tötemeyer for the conference NAMIBIA, AFRICA'S LAST COLONY: PROSPECTS FOR FREEDOM AND DEVELOPMENT at the University of Vermont, April 5–6, 1982
THE NAMIBIAN LIBERATION STRUGGLE - the black cause and white obligation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Totemeyer, Gerhard 1935 births Living people People from Hardap Region Namibian people of German descent Members of SWAPO Stellenbosch University alumni University of Freiburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Namibia White Namibian people