Peya Mushelenga
Honourable Peya Mushelenga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of International Relations & Cooperation | |
| Assumed office 9 February 2024 | |
| President | Nangolo Mbumba |
| Preceded by | Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah |
| Minister of Information and Communications Technology | |
| In office 21 March 2020 – 9 February 2024 | |
| President | Hage Geingob Nangolo Mbumba |
| Preceded by | Stanley Simataa |
| Succeeded by | Emma Theofelus |
| Minister of Urban and Rural Development | |
| In office 8 February 2018 – 21 March 2020 | |
| President | Hage Geingob |
| Preceded by | Sophia Shaningwa |
| Succeeded by | Erastus Uutoni |
| Deputy minister of International Relations and Cooperation | |
| In office 21 March 2010 – 8 February 2018 | |
| President | Hifikepunye Pohamba Hage Geingob |
| Succeeded by | Christine ǁHoebes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 1, 1975 Oshigambo, Oshikoto Region |
| Alma mater | University of Namibia University of South Africa Open University of Tanzania University of London Eastern and Southern African Management Institute University of the Western Cape |
Samuel Abraham Peyavali "Peya" Mushelenga (born September 1, 1975, in Oshigambo, Ovamboland) is a Namibian politician and poet. He is broadly educated, holding fourteen academic qualifications from seven different universities.
A member of SWAPO, Mushelenga has been a member of the National Assembly of Namibia since 2005. He has served cabinet in several ministerial roles and is the current[update] Minister of International Relations and Cooperation since 9 February 2024.
Early life and education
[edit]Peya Mushelenga was born at Oshigambo in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia. He attended Oluno Senior Secondary School until 1992 and then entered the University of Namibia (UNAM).
Mushelenga has accumulated fourteen university degrees in his career; the New Era daily called him "Namibia's most avid scholar".[1] He graduated with:[2]
- BA in History and Political Studies, University of Namibia (UNAM), Namibia, 1995
- BA Honours in International Politics, University of South Africa (UNISA), 1997
- MA in International Politics, UNISA, 2009
- B Juris, UNAM, 2011
- LLB (Honours), UNAM, 2014
- D Litt et Phil in International Politics, UNISA, 2015
- BA in economics, Open University of Tanzania (OUT), 2017
- LLM, UNAM, 2017
- MBA, Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI), 2018
- BEd (OUT), 2019
- MSc in Finance, University of London, United Kingdom, 2020
- PhD in Criminal Justice Law, University of the Western Cape, South Africa, 2022
- BTh, UNISA, 2022
- MEd (English), Great Zimbabwe University, 2023
Mushelenga is an admitted legal practitioner (attorney) of the High Court of Namibia.[2]
Career
[edit]After his first degree at UNAM Mushelenga worked as teacher at Nehale Senior Secondary School in 1996. He then worked for Government until 1998, and thereafter joined NamPower.[2]
He became active in the Namibia National Students Organisation in the 1980s and eventually became a high-level organizer for the SWAPO Party Youth League, being elected to the Central Committee and National Executive of the SPYL in 1997 and 2002. He had recently led the big delegation of 250 SWAPO Party Youth League leaders to Sochi Russia, to attend the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students, the event organized by World Federation of Democratic Youth WFDY and the Russian government. Also in 2002, he was elected to the SWAPO Central Committee as its youngest member (re-elected in 2007 and 2012).
Mushelenga became a member of Parliament of Namibia in 2005. In 2010, he was appointed deputy minister of Foreign Affairs.[3] In a major cabinet reshuffle he was promoted to minister of Urban and Rural Development on 8 February 2018.[4][5] On 21 March 2020, Mushelenga was appointed minister of Information and Communication Technology.[6]
Personal life
[edit]In 1980, South African security forces killed Mushelenga's sister and injured other relatives during a raid on their family home in the former bantustan of Ovamboland.
A book of poetry entitled Nando Na Li Toke, written in the Ovambo dialect of Ndonga, was published by Gamsberg MacMillan in 1996.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Kangira, Jairos (4 April 2022). "Mushelenga graduates with second PhD". New Era.
- ^ a b c "Mushelenga, Peya". Parliament of Namibia. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ Immanuel, Shinovene; Mongudhi, Tileni (20 March 2015). "Costly Democracy". The Namibian. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ Immanuel, Shinovene; Shapwanale, Ndapewoshali (19 February 2018). "Presidency keeps 3 deputies". The Namibian. pp. 1–2.
- ^ Chiringa, Kelvin (7 March 2018). "From a village-boy to a minister- Peya Mushelenga". The Villager.
- ^ Nakatana, Festus (23 March 2020). "Geingob drops Cabinet surprises". New Era. p. 1.
- ^ Peya Mushelenga Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine Namibia Institute for Democracy, 2007
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- Living people
- 1975 births
- Members of the National Assembly (Namibia)
- Namibian poets
- People from Oshikoto Region
- University of Namibia alumni
- Open University of Tanzania alumni
- Eastern and Southern African Management Institute alumni
- Alumni of the University of London
- University of South Africa alumni
- University of the Western Cape alumni
- SWAPO politicians
- Information ministers of Namibia
- Urban and rural development ministers of Namibia
- 20th-century Namibian writers
- 21st-century Namibian writers