Namibia's President Hage Geingob, 82, died in hospital early on Sunday, the presidency said, weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Geingob had been in charge of the thinly populated and mostly arid southern African country since 2015, the year he announced he had survived prostate cancer.
Vice President Nangolo Mbumba takes the helm in Namibia - a mining hotspot with significant deposits of diamonds and the electric car battery ingredient lithium - until presidential and parliamentary elections at the end of the year.
A presidency post on social media platform X did not give a cause of death, but late last month the presidency said he had travelled to the United States for "a two-day novel treatment for cancerous cells", after being diagnosed following a regular medical check-up.
Announcement of the Passing of H.E Dr @hagegeingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, 04 February 2024
— Namibian Presidency (@NamPresidency) February 4, 2024
Fellow Namibians,
It is with utmost sadness and regret that I inform you that our beloved Dr. Hage G. Geingob, the President of the Republic of Namibia has passed on… pic.twitter.com/Qb2t6M5nHi
Born in 1941, Geingob was a prominent politician since before Namibia achieved independence in 1990.
Geingob served as trade and industry minister before becoming prime minister again in 2012.
He won the 2014 election with 87% of the vote but only narrowly avoided a runoff with a little more than half the votes in a subsequent poll in November 2019.
Geingob died at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek, where he was receiving treatment from his medical team, the presidency said.
