Dora Siliya (born October 8, 1970 , Kitwe) is a politician in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

. She is the former member of parliament for Petauke Central and the former Minister of Communication and Broadcasting.

Early years

She was born in Kitwe and went to school in

Mufulira Mufulira, is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. Mufulira means "Place of Abundance and Peace". The town developed around the Mufulira Copper Mine in the 1930s. The town also serves as the administrative capital of Mufulira District. ...

. After graduating Kabulonga Girls secondary school in 1988, she commenced her studies at the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

where she studied medicine. After two years, she left the University and began working a
Zambian Television and Radio (ZNBC)
then went back to university to study mass communication, while still employed at ZNBC. In 1996 she started work at the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

. In 1997 she graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree. She holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

development economics Development economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural ...

from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and PhD in Development Economics from University of Lusaka.

Career

Siliya became ''Television Controller'' , working directly wit
Duncan Mbazima
who was the Director-General. She left ZNBC and was employed in a

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

project of ''Private Sector Development'' for two years. In 2001, she was approached by the

Movement for Multiparty Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

to run for the National Assembly, which she did in Petauke. She was not successful and was transferred to the Zambian embassy in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

working for the deputy ambassador and was mainly devoted to trade relations. In 2006, she reappeared as parliamentary candidate for the MMD in Petauke. She once served as the Minister of Energy and Water Development, Minister of Agriculture, and Minister of Transport and Communication. On 14 February 2018, she was appointed by president Edgar Chagwa Lungu to become the Minister of information and subsequently the chief government spokesperson. On 23 May 2020, Siliya tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

Politics

Siliya was elected to the National Assembly in Zambia in 2006 in the constituency of Petauke-Central. In October 2006, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siliya, Dora 1970 births Women government ministers of Zambia Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians Patriotic Front (Zambia) politicians University of Zambia alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Living people