Madge, Dirk

Born into the family of a Afrikaner farmer. In 1947 he graduated from Stellenbosch University with a commercial specialty. He worked as an accountant in Windhoek . In the 1950s he was engaged in cattle breeding.

The Madge family adhered to the ideology of Afrikaner nationalism , advocated maintaining the mandate of South Africa / South Africa to control South-West Africa (SWA) and the apartheid system. In 1955, Dirk Mudge joined the National Party . In 1961 he was elected to the parliament of South Africa as one of the seven representatives of the SWA.

From 1965 to 1977, Dirk Mudge occupied important administrative posts in the occupied SWA. This period basically coincided with the premiership in South Africa of Baltazar Johannes Forster .

Since 1969, the African left-wing rebel movement SWAPO waged a guerrilla war for the independence of Namibia . In 1975 - 1977, the Forster government organized a constitutional meeting in Windhoek. Based on its results, a joint document on interim governance was agreed ^[1] and the Turnhalle Democratic Alliance ( DTA ), a coalition of Namibian organizations that agree to partner with the South African government, was created.

The tribal leader herero Clemens Kapuuo became the president of DTA, Dirk Mudge became the chairman and the actual leader. There was a long-standing political connection between Capuuo and Mudge ^[2] . Then, in 1977 , Mudge founded and led the Republican Party ( RP ) of the conservative White Namibians , who joined the DTA. In 1978 , elections were held in the SWA, won by the DTA. On July 1, 1980, Dirk Mudge led the government of SWA. He led the military-political confrontation between SWAPO and actively implemented the concept of Namibia as a Bantustust confederation under the control of South Africa.

We do not want the SWAPO government. And we will do our best to impede SWAPO's coming to power.
Dirk Mudge ^[3]

Subsequently, Dirk Mudge regretted the non-participation of SWAPO in the constitutional process. At the same time, he emphasizes that only resistance, which did not allow SWAPO to “simply hoist its flag and seize the country,” allowed transition to democracy in independent Namibia. Mudge justified the apartheid system by saying that "human rights were violated one way or another around the world." He substantiated his policy with the tasks of the anti-communist confrontation ^[4] .

The constitutional process, the 1978 elections, and the Majj government did not receive international recognition. The UN proclaimed SWAPO "the sole legal representative of the people of Namibia." Theo-Ben Gurirab , a representative of SWAPO at the UN, called Dirk Maj “a cunning racist” and “an undoubted future overseer of the“ internal leaders ”” ^[5] . The partisan war and counterinsurgency operations continued, the situation in the country remained extremely tense. Typically, in 1978 and 1983, two DTA Presidents, Clemens Capuuo and his successor Cornelius Njoba, were killed .

The government of Dirk Majj resigned in 1983 . In the same year, Mudge participated in a multi-party conference as a representative of the DTA. Since 1986 he served as Minister of Finance in the "Transitional Government of National Unity", being its actual head.

By the late 1980s, it became apparent that the Namibian settlement and transition to independence would be held with the participation of SWAPO. In November 1989, Dirk Mudge established the DMTN media holding, which organized campaign against SWAPO in the 1989 elections. The RP newspaper Republikein , published in Afrikaans, was also included in the DMTH system. Subsequently, DMTN was transformed into DMH , a large media corporation that exists to this day ^[6] .

In the 1989 election, Dirk Mudge was elected to the DTA. However, in general, SWAPO won. Despite protests from the left-wing radicals, SWAPO leader Sam Sam Nujoma appointed Dirk Maje as Minister of Finance in the first government of independent Namibia . It is believed that with this step Nujoma demonstrated to the white community a readiness for reconciliation and cooperation.

I often had to argue, but I'm glad that I have many friends among compatriots, regardless of skin color.
Dirk Mudge ^[7]

Dirk Mudge remained a member of the Namibian government until 1993 . After the resignation, he took up farming on a farm in Kalkfeld . He is also engaged in charity and social activities ^[8] . Until 2008, he was chairman of the board of directors of DMH media holding.

Dirk Mudge remains an authoritative figure in the country, especially in the white community. Without formally holding political posts, he is considered one of the leaders of the Republican Party - along with his son Henk Mudge and the official (since 2011 ) party president, Clara Govases .

In July 2014, Dirk Mudge spoke at a party congress:

Let us help the government wherever possible and refrain from sweeping criticism ... Our constitution cannot be seen as a treaty between enemies. Let's try to build a single nation called Namibia.
Racial and ethnic differences will always remain. I can't call myself black or oshivambo . I am white and Afrikaner. But we will not allow races and ethnic groups to separate us. We are primarily Namibians ^[9] .

In May 2015, 87-year-old Dirk Mudge presented an autobiography at Windhoek ^{[10] [11]} .

Since 1950, Dirk Mudge has been married to Stini Mudge , a like-minded and political associate. In the marriage, the couple had five children, sixteen grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren.

87-year-old Stini Mage passed away in December 2017 . The official condolences on her death were expressed by the President of Namibia, Hage Geingob ^[12] .

Henk Mudge, the son of Dirk Maj, is a prominent Namibian politician, the successor to his father in the leadership of the Republican Party ^[13] .