Iipumbu Wendelinus Shiimi 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 economist and politician who served as the

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 ...

from 2020-2025. Before that, he served as the Bank of Namibia governor from 2010 until 2020.

Early life and education

Shiimi holds a Master of Science degree in Financial Economics (1998), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics (Economic Principles) from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He also holds a Diploma in Foreign Trade and Management from the

Maastricht School of Management The Maastricht School of Management (MSM) is a management school in Maastricht, the Netherlands. From 1 September 2022 MSM is part of the School of Business and Economics (SBE) of Maastricht University. MSM's activities in the fields of educatio ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Western Cape in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Western Cape. He underwent specialized training in Management from the University of Stellenbosch and

Wits Business School The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

and other specialized training in economics and finance in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, as well as at the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

and

Reserve Bank of South Africa The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condi ...

Career

Shiimi started working at the Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) 1994. He joined the

Bank of Namibia The Bank of Namibia (BoN) is the central bank of Namibia, whose establishment is enshrined in Article 128 of the Namibian Constitution. It is located in the capital city of Windhoek. The Bank of Namibia was established in 1990 by the ''Bank of Na ...

as a Senior Researcher in the Research Department and became a Manager of the Economics Division in the same department in 1997. In 1999, he became Manager of the Modelling and Forecasting Division in the Research Department. In 2000, he took over as Manager of the Statistics Division in the Research Department. In 2001, he became the Deputy Head of the Research Department and in 2002 he became the Chief Economist and Head of Research Department. In June 2006, Shiimi became a Senior Manager in the Banking Supervision Department until his appointment in November 2006 as Assistant Governor. In this role, he was responsible for providing strategic direction to the operations of the Bank which included managing foreign exchange reserves, banking supervision, economic stability, and financial monitoring. Shiimi was appointed as the new central bank chief on March 25, 2010, by President

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1935) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 Namibian presidential election, 2004 presidential election overwhelming ...

. He took over from Tom Alweendo, who was appointed Director-General of the Namibian National Planning Commission and later Minister of Mines and Energy. President

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...

re-appointed him to a second term in December 2016.

Other activities

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2010–2020) *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (2010–2020)Board of Governors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiimi, Iipumbu Living people Finance ministers of Namibia Governors of the Bank of Namibia Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) SWAPO politicians 1970 births Government ministers of Namibia 21st-century Namibian politicians People from Omusati Region