Hifikepunye Pohamba, outgoing Namibian President has won the world’s most valuable individual award- Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership for year 2014.
About Hifikepunye Pohamba
- Pohamba was born in 1935 in Namibia and was a former rebel who fought for his country’s independence.
- He has served as Namibian President two terms. For first time he was elected in 2004 and again in 2009.
- Now, he is due to be succeeded by elected President Hage Geingob.
About Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership
- This prize is given each year to an elected leader who has governed well, raised living standards and then left office.
- It is named after Mo Ibrahim, a British-Sudanese mobile communications entrepreneur and philanthropist who had made billions of fortune from investing in Africa.
- Mo Ibrahim had launched this prize in 2007 to encourage African leaders to leave power peacefully.
- It is the world’s most valuable individual award and carries monetary award of 5 million dollar and also $ 200,000 a year for life.
- The inaugural prize was awarded to Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique.