In the Footsteps of Mr Andersson

Description

In the footsteps of Mr Andersson: Milestones in Swedish-Namibia relations tells the story of the extraordinary relationship between Sweden and Namibia. It begins in the middle of the nineteenth century, when a Swedish explorer, adventurer, entrepreneur and arms dealer drew the earliest known maps of the areas now known as Namibia, northern Botswana and southern Zimbabwe. The story follows the fortunes of a handful of Namibian students and their Swedish counterparts who met in Stockholm in the 1960s and went on to help pave the way to the independence of Namibia in 1990. It is a tale filled with drama and courage, of serendipity and coincidence, of meetings conducted behind the backs of the superpowers and of political manoeuvring to bring about a country’s transition to freedom and democracy. Swedish journalist Christer L. Pettersson has spent many years writing about southern Africa, both as the Africa correspondent for two Swedish newspapers and as the editor of the online newspaper Africascan. Drawing on his many interviews with some of the most important players in the field of Swedish-Namibia relations, as well as on newspaper articles and other sources, Pettersson brings to life some key events that have shaped the history of Namibia since the 1850s. In the Footsteps of Mr Andersson, Pettersson’s third book, was commissioned by the Swedish embassy in Namibia and the Swedish International Development Cooperation agency (Sida). It is an important contribution to the history of modern Namibia and Sweden’s longstanding relationship with southern Africa