Historical Sketch

At the 1884 Berlin Conference in, the German Empire gained control over the so far unclaimed territory and established the colony of German Southwest Africa. Initially, administration was mandated to a colonial company, but in 1890 the government took over. In 1914, World War I broke out in Europe and soon spilled over to the colonial empires. In July 1915, South African troops invaded Southwest Africa and ended the German rule. The South African occupation of the neighboring territory was confirmed by a League of Nations mandate in 1920. The transformation into a United Nations trusteeship mandate after the Second World War remained unilateral as South Africa refused with the intention to fully annex Southwest Africa. The nominal UN trusteeship status was terminated in 1966 and the continued South African administration got outlawed, without the UN taking steps to impose this. Around the year 1960, two liberation movements were founded, and in 1966 the armed insurgency began. It went on until 1988 when a ceasefire was signed, and South Africa withdrew. After an interim UN administration, Southwest Africa attained independence as Republic of Namibia in 1990.

Monetary History Overview

The German colonial administration introduced the Reichsmark accounting in February 1901. The British gold and silver coins, which had been declared legal tender in 1893, were withdrawn from circulation within 6 months. The South African occupation of 1915 brought back the British currency, and in 1922, after the establishment of the League of Nations mandate, Southwest Africa was formally integrated into the South African currency area. Unlike the mainland, the paper money circulation of Southwest Africa was mandated to three commercial banks rather than the South African Reserve Bank. The decimalization of the South African currency in 1961 was also applied to Southwest Africa, and after that, the private paper money issuance was abolished. The independent Republic of Namibia immediately established a central bank. The creation of a national currency was, however. postponed. In February 1992, Namibia joined the Common Monetary Area agreement between South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, and in September of the following year, the Namibian Dollar got introduced as the national currency. It remained at par with the South African Rand, and the banknotes and coins of the CMA members are legal tender in Namibia.

Namibia joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 25.09.1990.

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