Pohamba Penomwenyo Shifeta (born 27 March 1968) is a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n politician. He is Namibia's Minister of Environment and Tourism since his appointment by president

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 201 ...

in March 2015.

Early life and education

Shifeta was born at Ongenga in the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi aa well as the self-governed village of Okongo. , Ohangwena had 150,724 registered voters. Ohang ...

. He had been active in the SWAPO-led National Union of Namibian Workers and

Namibia National Students Organisation The Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO) is a national student organisation in Namibia. It was founded on 2 June 1984 in Döbra, about north of the capital Windhoek. Student Representation NANSO has been representing Namibian stude ...

since 1988. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science at the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the follow ...

in 1996. He has also been involved in the

SWAPO Party Youth League The SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL), formerly known as the SWAPO Youth League (SYL), is the youth wing of the SWAPO Party, the ruling party of Namibia since 1990.Swapo party constitution It shares the same principles as those of the SWAPO Party. ...

. Shifeta is an admitted full-time legal practitioner and completed a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree with the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

(Unisa).

Political career

Shifeta was first elected to the

National Assembly of Namibia The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of clos ...

in 2004 as a SWAPO candidate. He was appointed as deputy Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture in March 2005, and he retained his position after the 2009 general election. In a December 2012 cabinet reshuffle, after the fifth SWAPO congress, Shifeta was moved to the post of deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, working under

Uahekua Herunga Uahekua Herunga is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Herunga was a regional coordinator for his party in the northwestern Kunene Region prior to his appointment to the 5th National Assembly of Namibia in 2009 as a choice of president Hif ...

. In president

's cabinet, appointed in March 2015, Shifeta was promoted to minister of Environment and Tourism.

References

1968 births Living people Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Ohangwena Region University of Namibia alumni University of South Africa alumni SWAPO politicians Environment and tourism ministers of Namibia {{Namibia-politician-stub