About Us

 Timeline of Bank Governors

  • 1990
     
    Bank of Namibia - Previous Governor - Dr Wouter Bernard
    Dr Wouter Bernard

    16 June 1990 -
    31 August 1991

  • 1991
     
    Erik Lennert Karlsson

    1 September 1991 -
    31 December 1993

    Bank of Namibia - Previous Governor - Erik Lennart Karlsson
  • 1994
     
    Bank of Namibia - Previous Governor - Dr Jaafar bin Ahmad
    Dr Jaafar bin Ahmad

    1 January 1994 -
    31 December 1996

  • 1997
     
    Hon. Tom Alweendo

    1 January 1997 -
    25 March 2010

    Bank of Namibia - Previous Governor - Hon. Tom Alweendo
  • 2010
     
    Bank of Namibia - Previous Governor - Hon. Iipumbu Shiimi
    Hon. Ipumbu Shiimi

    25 March 2010 -
    1 June 2020

  • 2020
     
    Johannes !Gawaxab

    1 June 2020 -
    Present

    Bank of Namibia - Current Governor - Johannes !Gawaxab

 Bank of Namibia Milestones & Historical Timeline

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) was established in accordance with a provision in the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, Chapter 17, Article 128 as amended by Namibian Constitution Third Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 8 of 2014), as amended by the Bank of Namibia Act 1 of 2020

  • Milestone Icon - Alliance

    1988

    SWAPO & Sweden Aliance

    SWAPO approached Sweden about the possibility of assistance specifically with the establishment of a central bank.

    Milestone 1
  • Milestone Icon - New Governor

    1990 - 1991

    New Governor Appointed

    Dr. W. L. Benard appointed as the first ever Governor of the Bank of Namibia.

    Milestone 1
  • Milestone Icon - Operations

    1990

    Official Commencement of Bank of Namibia Operations

    The bank of Namibia was founded on 16 July 1990 and commenced its operations on 1 August 1990.

    The central bank was initially called the 'Swabank', which was later changed to commercial Bank of Namibia.

    Milestone 3
  • Milestone Icon - Expansion

    1991

    The Growth/Expansion of the Bank

    By 31 January 1991, the Bank of Namibia in the 1st year had appointed 42 nationals in positions which were previously occupied by staff recruited by IMF, UNDP and SIDA. The bank of had seven departments by 1991.

  • Milestone Icon - Legal Tender

    1993

    Official Launch of Namibia's Legal Tender

    On 14 September 1993 the founding father, his excellency Dr. Sam Nujoma launched the Namibia dollar. It officially became the legal tender on the 15th of September 1993. The issuing of the Namibia dollar coins started on 8 December 1993.

    The issuance of the Namibia dollar notes began with the denomination of N$10, N$50, N$100.

    Milestone 4
    Milestone 4
  • Milestone Icon - New Governor

    1992 - 1993

    New Governor Appointed

    E. L. Karlsson appointed as the new Governor of the Bank of Namibia.

    Milestone 5
  • Milestone Icon - Construction

    1994

    The Construction of the new Bank Headquarters

    Within 4 years of the establishment of the Bank of Namibia, the former SARB building could no longer accommodate the staff of the central bank. It is against this background that in 1994, the board decided to construct a new building.

  • Milestone Icon - New Governor

    1994 - 1996

    New Governor Appointed

    Dr. J. Bin Ahmad appointed as the new Governor of the Bank of Namibia.

    Milestone 6
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