Shamfa Ashaki Cudjoe (born 1982) is a

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

politician representing the

People's National Movement The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections sinc ...

. She has served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for Tobago West since the 2015 general election. She is the current Minister of Sport and Community Development.

Early life

Cudjoe was born in 1982 as the fourth of eight children. Her mother, Wilma Warner-Cudjoe, is from Mason Hall and her father, Jeffrey Cudjoe, is from Bethel. She attended the Mason Hall and Montgomery Government Primary Schools, the Scarborough Methodist Primary School, the Scarborough Junior Secondary School and Signal Hill Senior Comprehensive School. She participated in youth activism and served as a youth ambassador for CARICOM and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. She was president of the Tobago Youth Council and participated in the Regional Youth Parliament initiative. When she was seventeen, she attended the first

World Youth Congress The World Youth Congress is an international event hosted in a multitude of countries since its beginning in 1999. It is for young leaders to come together and discuss world issues. At the first World Youth Congress, which was held in Hawaii in 19 ...

in Hawaii in 1999 as a member of the Caribbean delegation. In 2006, she received her bachelor's degree in international affairs from Bethune-Cookman College in

Florida, United States Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...

. She then received a masters of science with distinction in international trade policy from the

University of the West Indies at Cave Hill University of the West Indies at Cave Hill is a public research university in Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of five general campuses in the University of the West Indies system. It was the third campus to be established by the UWI System, follow ...

. Cudjoe also completed courses in economic development, export diversification, and international food and agriculture trade with the

World Bank Institute The World Bank Institute is the capacity building branch of the World Bank. It provides learning programs, policy advice and technical assistance to policy makers, government and non-government agencies, and development practitioners of developing c ...

Career

She worked as a trade analysis for the Division of Planning and Development and as an international trade consultant with the

Organisation of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

and the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

She is the assistant director of the Youth Energised for Success programme, an initiative of the Division of Finance and Enterprise in the

Tobago House of Assembly The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a unicameral devolved legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was re-established in 1980

. On 18 June 2010, Cudjoe was appointed as an Opposition Senator in the

Senate of Trinidad and Tobago The Senate of Trinidad and Tobago is the appointed upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, along with the President and House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago. The Senate currently sits at the Red House. The Senat ...

. She was the youngest Tobagonian to be appointed to the Senate. She was first elected to the

for Tobago West on 7 September 2015 following the 2015 general election. She was appointed to be the Minister of Tourism on 11 September 2015, a position that she held until 9 April 2018 when she became the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs. She was re-elected to represent Tobago West on 10 August 2020, following the 2020 general election. She received 9,275 votes, while her nearest opponent received only 4,501 votes. She was appointed as the Minister of Sport and Community Development on 19 August 2020.

Personal life

Cudjoe is a member of the

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

sorority and the founder of the Pink Diamond Society for Ladies Incorporated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cudjoe, Shamfa Living people 1982 births Bethune–Cookman University alumni University of the West Indies alumni People's National Movement politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago) 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women politicians 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago politicians Women government ministers of Trinidad and Tobago Government ministers of Trinidad and Tobago