Faustina Namutenya Caley (born 17 November 1956) 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. A member of

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 ...

, Caley joined

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 ...

in 2015 and was appointed deputy Minister of Education, Arts and Culture from 2020 to 21 March 2025.

Early life and professional career

Faustina Caley was born on 17 November 1956, in Ruurumwe,

Kavango West Kavango West is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital and only self-governed settlement is Nkurenkuru, its governor is Sirkka Ausiku. The Region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango We ...

, and grew up at Sarusungu now known as Kaisosi, in

Kavango East Kavango East is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governing sett ...

. She started her primary school in Kavango Region and finished her grade 12 at Rundu Secondary School. Caley attended

Augustineum Training College The Augustineum Secondary School, established in 1866, is among the oldest schools in Namibia. Originally situated in Otjimbingwe, it was relocated to Okahandja in 1890, and finally to Windhoek in 1968. Previously also known as the Augustineum ...

and graduated with a social worker certificate in 1979. She worked as a social worker for government until 1983. In 1990, she became acting principal of Dr Romanus Kampungu Secondary School in Rundu. From 1991 Caley 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 ...

in various positions until 2014, rising to director of education of

Otjozondjupa Region Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Geogr ...

. In parallel she obtained various tertiary degrees, a diploma in Primary Education 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 ...

(1997), a Bachelor of Philosophy from the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

, United Kingdom (1998), a Masters in Education (M.Ed) from

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

(1999), and a postgraduate diploma in Management Studies from MANCOSA, South Africa (2003).

Political career

Caley became a

member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

in 2015 and served as the chairperson of the Parliamentary standing committee on ICT and Innovation. For the 2020–2025 legislative period she was appointed deputy minister of Basic Education, Arts and Culture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caley, Faustina Women members of the National Assembly (Namibia) 21st-century Namibian women politicians SWAPO politicians Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) 1956 births Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of the University of Hull University of Namibia alumni Management College of Southern Africa alumni 21st-century Namibian politicians People from Kavango West Living people Women government ministers of Namibia Government ministers of Namibia