Otto Herrigel (27 June 1937 – 13 May 2013) was a Namibian businessman, and politician. He served as Namibia's first Minister of Finance between 1990 and 1992.
Otto Herrigel | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 21 March 1990 – 10 April 1992 | |
| President | Sam Nujoma |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Gert Hanekom |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 June 1937 Walvis Bay |
| Died | 13 May 2013 (aged 75) Windhoek |
| Nationality |  Namibian |
| Political party |  SWAPO |
| Spouse | Karin Herrigel |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Heidelberg University of Basel |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| [1] | |
Herrigel was born in Walvis Bay and grew up in Swakopmund. He studied economics at University of Heidelberg, and in 1971 obtained a doctoral degree from University of Basel, his thesis was about the demographic and economic development of South West Africa since 1921.[2]
A member of SWAPO since before Independence of Namibia, Herrigel worked as a businessman and farmer, before he was appointed Namibia's first Minister of Finance on 21 March 1990. Prominent businessman and then-Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Harold Pupkewitz commented "Dr Herrigel [is a] man of decision-making abilities and sound judgement".[3] Herrigel resigned in 1992, reportedly due to differences with president Sam Nujoma over fiscal policy and the procurement of a presidential aircraft. Afterwards Herrigel was on the board of the Bank of Namibia (1998-2008), and on the board of directors of TransNamib (2001-2002).[4]
Herrigel and his wife Karin raised two GDR kids as foster children, children that were removed from their parents and brought up in the German Democratic Republic.[4]
References edit
- ^ "Otto Herrigel verstorben". Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 17 May 2013. p. 3.
- ^ Eriksen, Tore Linné; Moorsom, Richard (1989). United Nations Institute for Namibia (ed.). The Political Economy of Namibia: An Annotated Critical Bibliography. Norwegian foreign policy studies. Vol. 69. Nordic Africa Institute. p. 127. ISBN 9789171062970.
- ^ Torreguitar, Elena (2009). National Liberation Movement in Office: Forging Democracy With African Adjectives in Namibia. European University Studies; Political Science. Vol. 567. Peter Lang. p. 398. ISBN 9783631579954.
- ^ a b Menges, Werner (17 May 2013). "Former Finance Minister Otto Herrigel dies". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013.