Peter Sam Shivute (born 25 September 1963) is a

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 judge who is currently serving as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Namibia since 1 December 2004. He is the first black Namibian to be appointed to this position.

Early life and education

Shivute was born in

Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Ovambo people. The term originally referred to the parts ...

in South West Africa (Present day Namibia). At the age of 16 he went into exile, continuing his secondary school education in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

. While still in Zambia, he received a Diploma in Legal Studies with distinction in 1986. He left Zambia for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

where he obtained an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(Honors) from Trinity Hall College,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

in 1991. After working in now independent Namibia for four years he returned to the UK to complete the

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

in 1996. Shivute further holds a Diploma in Development Studies and Management.

Legal career

Peter Shivute was appointed

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

in the Judicial Service of the Republic of Zambia in 1987, barely 24 years old. On his return from exile he served as magistrate in the Namibian Judiciary from 1991 to 2000, as Judge, later Judge President, of the High Court. On 1 December 2004, Shivute was appointed Chief Justice of Namibia, the highest judge that heads the Supreme Court. He is the fourth Namibian Chief Justice, succeeding Johan Strydom who retired in 2003. He further is the chairman of the Judicial Service Commission and the Board of Legal Education. In 2002, he chaired the Third Delimitation Commission of Namibia, a body that infrequently decides on the administrative division of the country. Shivute frequently publishes on politics, human rights, and the law in Namibia. He is married to judge Naomi Shivute.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shivute, Peter 1963 births Living people Chief justices of Namibia Alumni of the University of Warwick Ovambo people Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge 20th-century Namibian lawyers