Long inhabited by indigenous peoples, it was explored by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. In 1885 it was annexed by Germany as German Southwest Africa. The next three decades of German rule were marked by bloody suppression of the rebellious black Africans, notably the once dominant Herero, whose revolt in 1904 was not finally crushed until four years later at the cost of perhaps 60,000 lives.
It was captured in World War I by South Africa, which received it as a mandate from the League of Nations in 1918 and refused to give it up after World War II. A UN resolution in 1966 ending the mandate was challenged by South Africa in the 1970s and ’80s.  Led by Sam Nojoume Namibians started a long struggle for independence which succeeded in 1990 and Nojoume was elected as the first president.