Sophia Shaningwa

Sophia Shaningwa (born 13 May 1959 in Outapi) is a Namibian politician, currently serving as secretary general of the SWAPO party.

Education
Shaningwa left Namibia for exile in May 1980 and underwent military training as a People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) combatant. She studied at Ivanova Teachers Training College in the Soviet Union.

Political career
Shaningwa was appointed governor of Khomas Region in 2004. She later served as Governor of Omusati Region. In 2014, she was elected to the National Assembly. She had previously worked at the National Housing Enterprise and served as Windhoek West councillor.

Shaningwa served as Minister for Urban and Rural Development from 21 March 2015 to February 2018 in president Hage Geingob's administration. During that time her ministry was awarded a cheque by Samlam to eliminate the bucket toilet system, because sanitation and hygiene is believed to be a major challenge in the rural areas. In 2017 Shaningwa was elected secretary general of SWAPO. Shaningwa retained this position in 2022, defeating Oshikoto SWAPO Regional Coordinator Armas Amukwiyu.

Awards
Shaningwa was conferred the Most Distinguished Order of Namibia: First Class on Heroes' Day 2014.