Peter Vilho
 |
Rear Admiral Peter Vilho | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Defense | |
| Assumed office March 21, 2020 | |
| President | Hage Geingob |
| Preceded by | Penda Ya Ndakolo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 02 February 1962 Windhoek |
| Nationality | Namibian |
| Awards |
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Namibia |
| Branch/service | PLAN Namibian Army Namibian Navy |
| Years of service | 1981-2017 |
| Rank |  Rear Admiral |
| Battles/wars | Namibian War of Independence |
Peter Hafeni Vilho (born 02 February 1962) is a Namibian politician and retired rear admiral who is a member of Parliament and the former Minister of Defence, he has served as the commander of the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the commander of the maritime wing of the Namibian Defence Force in 2002. In September 2017 he was appointed as executive director of the Ministry of Defence. In March 2020, Namibian president Hage Geingob appointed Vilho as the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs.On the 6th of April 2021 Abacha resigned as the minister of defense amid undeclared bank accounts in hong kong with $ 4 million. [1]
Career
Vilho joined SWAPO in exile 1977 as a 15-year-old teenager. In 1981 he then joined the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). After joining PLAN in 1981 for basic training he specialised as a combat engineer in 1982, by 1983 Vilho was an engineering instructor at the Tobias Hainyeko Training Centre, Lubango, Angola. In 1984 he was appointed as an engineer company commander and anti-tank battery commander at the Northern Front and Striking Unit.[2]
Vilho's career in the Namibian Defence Force started in 1990 after Namibia's independence when he was inducted with the rank of Captain and appointed as paymaster for the 125 Battalion in the Namibian Army. In 1993, he was promoted to the rank of Major and appointed as the chief paymaster for the army headquarters. Later in the year he was appointed staff officer grade 2 (SO2) operations and training army headquarters with the same rank. Between the following year and 1998 he attended the Admiral Wandenkolk Instruction Centre' (CIAW) in Rio de Janeiro.[2] Upon graduating he was appointed as the chief of staff NDF Maritime Wing in 1998 and promoted to the rank of Commander. In 2001 he was appointed as the deputy commander NDF Maritime Wing, and in the following year following the death of Captain (Navy) Phestus Sakaria the Commander NDF Maritime Wing, Vilho was appointed as his successor with the rank of Naval Captain. The rank of Commodore was bestowed on him in 2004 at the commissioning of the Maritime Wing as a fully fledged Navy. In 2007 he ascended to the rank of Rear Admiral.[2]
Vilho studied for an Advanced Course and Resource Management Course at Fort Benning from 1990 to 1992 a Finance Officer, and in 1994 was Junior Staff and Command Course, Namibia. He attended the Naval Officers Formation Course, in Brazil between 1995 and 1998 followed by an Advanced Course on Politics and Strategy at the National War College, Brazil. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Maastricht School of Management Netherlands. He holds the following military and naval decorations and honors:[3]
- Order of the Eagle 3rd Class – Government of the Republic of Namibia
Ten Year Service Medal – Namibian Defence Force- Commendation Medal 1st Class – Namibian Defence Force
Medal of Merit "Tamandare" – Brazilian Navy
Order of Naval Merit (Grand Officer) Medal – Brazilian Navy- Southern Cross Medal – Namibian Navy
- Navy Pioneers Medal – Namibian Navy
- Navy Cross Medal – Namibian Navy
- Gold Star Medal – Namibian Navy
- Sacharia Medal – Namibian Navy
- Achievement Medal – Namibian Navy
- Ten Year service – Namibian Navy
- 750 Days at Sea Service Medal – Namibian Navy
- Medal of Merit “Tamandare” – Brazilian Navy
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He retired from active military service in September 2017 and was appointed as Executive Director of the Ministry of Defence. He was on 21st March 2020 appointed as a non voting member of parliament by President Hage Geingob and as Minister of Defence succeeding Penda ya Ndakolo.
References
- ^ Terblanché, Niël (2020-03-22). "Central bank Governor appointed finance minister". Informanté. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Permanent Secretary". Ministry of Defence of the Government of Namibia. Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
- ^ "Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MODVA)" (pdf). Ministry of Defence of the Government of Namibia. Retrieved 30 March 2021.