Was Queen Elizabeth II ever the head of state of Namibia?
Upvote:14
The short answer is yes, the British monarch was technically the Head of State for South West Africa (formerly Deutsch-Südwestafrika) from the grant of the Mandate by the League of Nations until South Africa became a republic on 31 May 1961.
It's worth noting that South West Africa didn't become known as Namibia until the UN General Assembly changed the territory's name by Resolution 2372 (XXII) on 12 June 1968.
Article 22 of The Covenant of the League of Nations stated that:
There are territories, such as South-West Africa and certain of the South Pacific Islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their population, or their small size, or their remoteness from the centres of civilisation, or their geographical contiguity to the territory of the Mandatory, and other circumstances, can be best administered under the laws of the Mandatory as integral portions of its territory, subject to the safeguards above mentioned in the interests of the indigenous population.
(my emphasis)
The mandate for South-West Africa was granted to the Union of South Africa. Note that although not annexed to South Africa, South West Africa was "administered under the laws of" South Africa "as integral portions of its territory". Under Article 22, the de jure status of SW Africa was made explicitly part of South Africa for the duration of the mandate.
Unlike other Class-C mandate countries, South-West Africa did not become a United Nations trust territory in 1946 after South Africa objected. That objection was upheld by the International Court of Justice in 1950. However, a request by the South African government that the territory of South-West Africa should be annexed by South Africa as a fifth province was formally declined. See The South West Africa/Namibia Dispute: Documents and Scholarly Writings on the Controversy Between South Africa and the United Nations by John Dugard (University of California Press, 1973) p124 for more details
As a result, South-West Africa continued to be administered under the laws of South Africa as integral portions of its territory as established by Article 22 above. The mandate was not terminated until a UN General Assembly vote in 1966 (see below).
All this meant that the Head of State of South Africa was also technically the Head of State of South-West Africa, from the grant of the mandate in 1919 until it was formally repealed by the UN General Assembly in 1966 (resolution 2145 (XXI)).
The British monarch was the Head of State in South Africa until it became a republic, with the passage of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961. Queen Elizabeth II became the monarch on 6 February 1952 and remained Head of State in South Africa until 31 May 1961 when South Africa became a republic, so the answer to the question in your title is "Yes".
However, as to the question of who was the last monarch to rule in South-West Africa, it is worth noting that, even as Head of State, the British monarch did not rule in South Africa (and hence South-West Africa under the League of Nations mandate).
Although Elizabeth II was titled Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of South Africa and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth from 1953 to 1961, as a constitutional monarch, she reigned but did not rule.
Note that South-West Africa in the mandate period (1919-1966) was a very different case from, for example, the Aden Protectorate. South-West Africa was governed under a Class-C League of Nations mandate, not as a British Protectorate. Under that League of Nations mandate, the territory of South-West Africa became legally an "integral portion" of South Africa.
More post
- 📝 Could someone identify this uniform? The photograph is a tintype
- 📝 Why did the French sell Louisiana?
- 📝 Was Christianity always the #1 religion since it started, or were there others?
- 📝 How thick was Late Medieval horse armor?
- 📝 How did the general population of England convert so smoothly to Protestantism?
- 📝 What percentage of Jews were in "finance" (money-lenders) throughout Middle Ages?
- 📝 Did Rothschild say this famous quote? If yes, what did he mean by it?
- 📝 Who proposed the motion that gave Gaius Julius Caesar the title Augustus?
- 📝 Did Argentine President Juan Peron grant free access to the radio, the press and two soccer stadiums to a preacher called Tommy Hicks in 1954?
- 📝 Natural born citizen
- 📝 What is known about early history of Judaism?
- 📝 How did the Romans supply water in winter?
- 📝 Which Luftwaffe units participated in the raid on Manchester on 11 March 1941?
- 📝 How did a student grant work in 18th/19th century Western Europe
- 📝 To what extent does the dictionary of Samuel Johnson represent English as it was spoken in his day?
- 📝 Is it true that Austrians who refused to help SS in catching Soviet POWs would not face any negative consequences?
- 📝 How popular, or not, was the Mexican Goverment in the Cristero War (1927 - 1929)?
- 📝 Why didn't Asian countries expand and trade with Europe?
- 📝 What was the timetable for the arrival of the 100,000 man Japanese garrison at Rabaul?
- 📝 What was used instead of toilet paper in the US and the UK prior to 1900?
- 📝 Did the Taaffe family maintain an actual connection with Ireland during the 19th century?
- 📝 Book about the story of a WWII photo analyst looking for V1 launching ramps
- 📝 Did healers in medieval Europe use moldy bread in poultices for wounds?
- 📝 Who is depicted in this Soleimani propaganda image?
- 📝 Did former SS-member Alois Brunner advise Syria on organizing it's Intelligence Service?
- 📝 Did the chariot drop in importance between bronze age Greece and the iron age Greece? Why, why not?
- 📝 Were toilets used more than once as a weapon in a military conflict?
- 📝 Did the date of 9/11 have significance, or was it chosen randomly?
- 📝 Was David Ben-Gurion's marriage to Paula in December 1917 in New York?
- 📝 Did ancient peoples ever hide their treasure behind puzzles?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Was Queen Elizabeth II ever the head of state of Namibia?
- 📝 Was the option of setting up a Jewish state in defeated Nazi Germany ever considered?
- 📝 Before Idriss Deby, who was the last head of state to be killed in combat?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
- 📝 Was the tugboat ever part of a WWII battle group?
- 📝 Was it ever possible to join the US military instead of going to prison for a crime?
- 📝 Was the Dutch State independent when the Dutch East India Company was founded?
- 📝 What was the cleanest war ever fought?
- 📝 Who had the shortest time in going from imprisonment to head of state within democratic processes?
- 📝 What was the state of the German rail system in 1944?
- 📝 Was German ever an official language in the USSR?
- 📝 Was a bomb or shell ever dropped directly down the funnel of a warship?
- 📝 Was there ever any doubt which side the USA would join?
- 📝 What was this small state in the south of France in 1789?
- 📝 Before European influence circa 1600, did any Chinese believe the Earth was spherical, and did they ever try to measure it?
- 📝 Who was the first head of government to support same-sex marriage?
- 📝 Was it ever illegal for two people of different religions to marry in the UK?
- 📝 Was the interior of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople ever covered with mosaic icons?
- 📝 What was the largest land area that Germany has ever controlled?
- 📝 Was the State of Indiana's legislation changed to fix the value of Pi?
- 📝 What Was the State of German Tank Design In Between the World Wars?
- 📝 Was it ever deemed illegal to translate the Qu'ran?
- 📝 Has there ever been a US election that flipped as many state seats as the 2010 midterm elections?
- 📝 Did the Russian Empire have a claim to Sweden? Was there ever a time where they could have pursued it?
- 📝 At the start of Barbarossa, what was the state of Germany's oil supply?
- 📝 Was the de Havilland Mosquito ever deployed on an aircraft carrier?
- 📝 Was there ever a war mission where the personnel were instructed to surrender when the mission complete?
- 📝 When was the first known international call between two heads of state or government?
- 📝 Why did Robert E. Lee say that George McClellan was the best general he ever faced?