Paul Albertus Smit is a Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

n politician and farmer. A White

Whites in Namibia

White Namibians are people of European or Southern African birth or descent living in Namibia. Most white Namibians are Afrikaners, while some are descended from German, Portuguese, or English immigrants.- Distribution :...

 farmer, Smit considers himself "apolitical" despite being the Deputy Minister of Agriculture since 2000 in an otherwise SWAPO-led government. He was the Minister of Agriculture for part of 2004-2005 following Helmut Angula

Helmut Angula

Helmut Kangulohi Angula is a former Namibian Cabinet Minister and businessman. Currently, the Director of various private companies and a long time member of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau of the ruling SWAPO Party .Angula was born in Ontananga, Oshikoto Region, and joined SWAPO in...

's resignation from the post. He was a Democratic Turnhalle Alliance activist in the 1980s but left the party in 1983. From 1987-1997, Smit played a prominent role in the Namibia Agricultural Union

Namibia Agricultural Union

The Namibia Agricultural Union is a union of farmers in Namibia which represents commercial or non-subsistence farmers. The leader of the NAU since 2004 is Raimar von Hase who replaced Jan de Wet...

, which represents Namibia's prosperous and overwhelmingly white commercial farmers. He served as the NAU's president from 1993-1997.

Education

Smit attended Etosha High School in Tsumeb

Tsumeb

Tsumeb is a city of 15,000 inhabitants and the largest town in Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb is the home of the world-famous Tsumeb mine, and the "gateway to the north" of Namibia. It is the closest town to the Etosha National Park...

, where he graduated from in 1971. Upon graduation in Tsumeb, he left to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, where he attended the University of the Orange Free State

University of the Free State

The University of the Free State is situated in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State, South Africa. The university also has a satellite campus in Qwaqwa that was, until 2003, part of the University of the North.-Academic Divisions:...

 in Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...

. He graduated with a BSc in Agricultural Economy in 1973.

Political positions

Smit has actively worked towards reconciliation between Black and White Namibians through Transformation Namibia. In October 2002, Smit apologized before the National Assembly

National Assembly of Namibia

The National Assembly of Namibia is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It has a total of 78 members. 72 members are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms. Six additional members are appointed by the President.The...

 for the wrongs of apartheid. In May 2003, the organization held a successful rally but a planned apology on behalf of White Namibians did not result.