Peter Vilho
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Peter Hafeni Vilho (born 2 February 1962) is a
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
n politician and retired
rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
who is a member of the
Parliament of Namibia The Parliament of Namibia is the national legislature of Namibia. It is a bicameral legislature consists of two houses: the National Council of Namibia, National Council (upper house) and the National Assembly of Namibia, National Assembly (lowe ...
, a former Minister of Defence, and a former commander of the
Namibian Navy The Namibian Navy is the maritime warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's Navy has been slowest of the three Arms of Service. The force was only formally established on 11 September 1998 as a maritime ...
. He was appointed the commander of the maritime wing of the
Namibian Defence Force The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Nami ...
in 2002. In September 2017 he was appointed as executive director of the Ministry of Defence. In March 2020, Namibian president Hage Geingob appointed Vilho as the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs. Vilho served until his resignation in April 2021 after allegations of holding an
undeclared ''Undeclared'' is an American sitcom created by Judd Apatow, which aired on Fox from September 25, 2001 to March 12, 2002. The show has developed a cult following, and in 2012, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed it at #16 in the "25 Best Cult TV Sh ...
bank account.


Career

Vilho joined
SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...
in exile in 1977 as a 15-year-old teenager. In 1981 he then joined the
People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) during the S ...
(PLAN). After joining PLAN in 1981 for basic training he specialised as a combat engineer in 1982, by 1983 Vilho was an engineering instructor at the Tobias Hainyeko Training Centre,
Lubango Lubango, formerly known as Sá da Bandeira, is a municipality in Angola, capital of the Huíla Province, with a population of 914,456 in 2022. The city center had a population of 600,751 in 2014 making it the second-most populous city in Angola a ...
,
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
. In 1984 he was appointed as an engineer company commander and anti-tank battery commander at the Northern Front and Striking Unit. Vilho's career in the Namibian Defence Force started in 1990 after Namibia's independence when he was inducted with the rank of
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
and appointed as paymaster for the 125 Battalion in the
Namibian Army The Namibian Army is the ground warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's army was the fastest of the three arms of service. The first units of the Army were deployed as early as 1990. The Army was formed ...
. In 1993, he was promoted to the rank of Major and appointed as the chief paymaster for the army headquarters. Later in the year, he was appointed staff officer grade 2 (SO2) operations and training army headquarters with the same rank. Between 1994 and 1998 he attended the Admiral Wandenkolk Instruction Centre (CIAW) in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. Upon graduating he was appointed as the chief of staff NDF Maritime Wing in 1998 and promoted to the rank of
Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
. In 2001 he was appointed as the deputy commander NDF Maritime Wing, and in the following year following the death of Captain (Navy) Phestus Sakaria the Commander NDF Maritime Wing, Vilho was appointed as his successor with the rank of Naval Captain. The rank of Commodore was bestowed on him in 2004 at the commissioning of the Maritime Wing as a fully-fledged navy. In 2007 he ascended to the rank of Rear Admiral. Vilho studied for an Advanced Course and Resource Management Course at Fort Benning from 1990 to 1992 as a Finance Officer, and in 1994 attended the Junior Staff and Command Course, Namibia. He attended the Naval Officers Formation Course in Brazil between 1995 and 1998 followed by an Advanced Course on Politics and Strategy at the National War College, Brazil. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the Maastricht School of Management in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.


Honours and decorations

* Order of the Eagle 3rd Class – Government of the Republic of Namibia * NDF 10 years service medal * NDF Commendation Medal * Medal of Merit "Tamandare" – Brazilian Navy * Order of Naval Merit (Grand Officer) Medal – Brazilian Navy * Southern Cross Medal – Namibian Navy * Navy Pioneers Medal – Namibian Navy * Navy Cross Medal – Namibian Navy * Gold Star Medal – Namibian Navy * Sacharia Medal – Namibian Navy * Achievement Medal – Namibian Navy * Ten Year service – Namibian Navy * 750 Days at Sea Service Medal – Namibian Navy * Medal of Merit "Tamandare" – Brazilian Navy Vilho retired from active military service in September 2017 and was appointed as Executive Director of the Ministry of Defence. On 21 March 2020 president
Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...
appointed him as Minister of Defence succeeding
Penda ya Ndakolo Jafet Penda Ya Ndakolo (born 23 March 1960 at Oshigambo) is a Namibian SWAPO politician and a former governor of Oshikoto Region. He served as Minister of Defence from 2015 to 2020. After losing his position as minister in 2020 he was appointed ...
. With this appointment he also became a non voting member of parliament. On 6 April 2021 Vilho resigned due to allegations of holding an
undeclared ''Undeclared'' is an American sitcom created by Judd Apatow, which aired on Fox from September 25, 2001 to March 12, 2002. The show has developed a cult following, and in 2012, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed it at #16 in the "25 Best Cult TV Sh ...
bank account in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
that is "linked to illicit proceeds". The resignation triggered a cabinet reshuffle in which Vilho was succeeded by
Frans Kapofi Frans Kapofi (born 25 January 1953 at Onaame, Ohangwena region) is a Namibian politician who since 1999 has served in various positions in cabinet. A member of SWAPO, he is a military officer by training. Kapofi has been a permanent secretary ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vilho, Peter Living people Namibian military personnel Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Brazil) 1962 births National heroes of Namibia People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel Politicians from Oshikoto Region Government ministers of Namibia SWAPO politicians