South West Africa
South West Africa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915–1990 | |||||||||
| Motto: Viribus Unitis (Latin for "With United Forces") | |||||||||
| Anthem: "God Save the King" (1915–52); "God Save the Queen" (1952–57) "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (1938–90) (English: "The Call of South Africa") | |||||||||
Location of South West Africa (light green) within South Africa (dark green) | |||||||||
| Status | League of Nations mandate of South Africa (until 1966) Under South African occupation (from 1966) | ||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Windhoek | ||||||||
| Official languages | |||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Demonym(s) | South West African, Namibian | ||||||||
| Administrator | |||||||||
• 1915–1920 | Sir Edmond Howard Lacam Gorges | ||||||||
• 1985–1990 | Louis Pienaar | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Occupation of German South West Africa | 9 July 1915 | ||||||||
| 28 June 1919 | |||||||||
• Mandate repealed by the UN | 27 October 1966 | ||||||||
• Territory renamed to Namibia | 12 June 1968 | ||||||||
• Independence | 21 March 1990 | ||||||||
| Currency | South West African pound (1920–1961) South African rand (1961–1990) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Namibia | ||||||||
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| History of Namibia |
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South West Africa was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed Namibia by the United Nations in 1968, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990.
South West Africa bordered Angola (a Portuguese colony before 1975), Botswana (Bechuanaland before 1966), South Africa, and Zambia (Northern Rhodesia before 1964). During its administration, South Africa applied its own apartheid system in the territory of South West Africa.
A German colony known as German South West Africa from 1884 to 1915, it was made a League of Nations mandate of the Union of South Africa following Germany's defeat in the First World War. Although the mandate was repealed by the United Nations on 27 October 1966, South African control over the territory continued. The territory was administered directly by the South African government from 1915 to 1978, when the Turnhalle Constitutional Conference laid the groundwork for semi-autonomous rule. During an interim period between 1978 and 1985, South Africa gradually granted South West Africa a limited form of home rule, culminating in the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity.