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, and ...

), is a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

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 ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

. 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 President of Namibia, the Prime Minister of Namibia and any positions that the Presiden ...

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, which ...

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 (TransNamib) is a List of state-owned enterprises in Namibia, 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. ...

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 (Honours) from the

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

in 1993 and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the Management College of Southern Africa in 2012. He also holds certificates from the universities of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

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

Political career

Tweya joined

in 1975. In 1985, Tweya helped to found, and was chairperson of, the Namibia National Students Organisation (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 (NUNW), which is one of the

national trade union center Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on ...

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

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in 2005. In 2010 he was moved to deputise the Minister of Trade and Industry, 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