Tjekero Tweya (born 18 June 1960 in Shamundambo,

Okavango Region Kavango (before 1998: Okavango) was one of the thirteen regions of Namibia until it was split into the Kavango East and Kavango West Regions in 2013. Its capital was Rundu. In the north, Kavango bordered the Cuando Cubango Province of Angola, an ...

), 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 and trade unionist. Tweya is a member of

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

. He served in the

Cabinet of Namibia The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by Chapter 6 (Articles 35-42) of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include the following positions: the President of Namibia, the Prime Minister of Namibia and any pos ...

as Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development and as Minister of Information and Communication Technology.

Early life and education

Tweya obtained a Higher Education teaching diploma in 1988 and worked as teacher and principal between 1989 and 1992. He then moved to

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

and worked for the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

until 1996. In 1997 he became human resources manager, first at

TransNamib TransNamib Holdings Limited, commonly referred to as TransNamib, is a state-owned railway company in Namibia. Organised as a holding company, it provides both rail and road freight services, as well as passenger rail services. Its headquarters ar ...

and then at

Telecom Namibia Telecom Namibia Limited, commonly known as Telecom Namibia, is a telecommunications service provider operating in Namibia. It is the national telecommunications operator, established in August 1992 and wholly owned by the Government of Namibia. ...

. Tweya completed a

BEd A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

(Honours) from 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 1993 and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

Management College of Southern Africa The Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA) is a distance education institution located in Durban, South Africa. It is a private higher education institution, established in 1995 as a post-apartheid empowerment institution, offering af ...

in 2012. He also holds certificates from the universities of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Political career

Tweya joined

in 1975. In 1985, Tweya helped to found, and was chairperson of, the

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 ...

(NANSO). He was the first chairman of the Namibia National Teachers Union (NANTU) between 1989 and 1991, and president of the

National Union of Namibian Workers The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) is one of three national trade union centers in Namibia. It was established in 1970 and is affiliated with SWAPO, Namibia's ruling political party. History NUNW was originally established as a gener ...

(NUNW), which is one of the

national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

s of Namibia, between 1991 and 1993. Tweya was appointed deputy

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in 2005. In 2010 he was moved to deputise the

Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

, and in 2015 he was promoted to Minister of Information and Communication Technology. In a cabinet reshuffle in February 2018 he became Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development. He served until March 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweya, Tjekero 1960 births Living people Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Namibian trade unionists People from Kavango Region University of Namibia alumni Management College of Southern Africa alumni Harvard University alumni Alumni of the University of Manchester SWAPO politicians Trade and industry ministers of Namibia Information ministers of Namibia