Mahshid Shi'upa

Mahshid Shi'upa
3rd Prime Minister
Incumbent
Assumed office August 13, 2008
Preceded by	Peket Ahmadi
3rd Leader of the Shooda-Tsiba Party
Incumbent
Assumed office August 12, 2008
Preceded by	Peket Ahmadi
2nd Ja-Prime Minister
In office June 25, 1991 – August 12, 2008
Prime Minister	Peket Ahmadi
Preceded by	Peket Ahmadi
Succeeded by	Chavo Lotfi-Vi'achavo
First Representative of the City of Chavotsy
In office August 13, 1986 – June 25, 1991
Preceded by	Louis Bacatsy
Succeeded by	Wendy Archer
Parliamentary group	Shooda-Tsiba
Personal details
Born	(1956-06-17) June 17, 1956 Chavotsy, Chavotsy
Political party	Shooda-Tsiba
Spouse(s)	Tsuvoo Madani (1982-2007)
Children	Bevoo Emetsi Madani (b. 1984)
Mother	Faradeh Ghorbani-Shi'upa
Father	Edward Shi'upa
Residence	Shooda-Doomu
Alma mater	University of Duchavo - Jishutsy

Mahshid Shi'upa is a Tsiba politician and member of the Shooda-Tsiba party. She is currently serving as the 3rd and current Prime Minister of Tsiba, as well as the Leader of the Shooda-Tsiba Party. Shi'upa was formerly the Ja-Prime Minister of Tsiba and the First Representative of the City of Chavotsy. She succeeded Peket Ahmadi as Prime Minister after he resigned in 2008.

Early Life and Career

Shi'upa was born to devote Muslim parents in 1956. At the age of seventeen she attended the University of Duchavo - Jishutsy, graduating with honors in 1977. Upon her graduation she got a job working in the offices of the First Representative of the City of Chavotsy, Louis Bacatsy. She met her husband Tsuvoo Madani, a Chavotsy civil servant, in 1980. The couple wed in 1982 and Shi'upa's daughter, actress Bevoo Emetsi Madani, was born in 1984.

By 1985, Shi'upa was running Bacatsy's offices in Chavotsy. When Bacatsy chose not to run for re-election in 1986 he endorsed Shi'upa for his position. She beat Elizabeth Johnson, gaining 63% of votes and becoming the first woman to represent Chavotsy in the Duchavoputsy.

Political Career

As First Representative of the City of Chavotsy, Shi'upa championed women's rights and education issues. She gained national attention for sponsoring legislation that decriminalized abortion in Tsiba. She also worked to create the first nationwide minimum age of marriage (sixteen), as well as the first federal ban on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). As a member of Parliament, Shi'upa worked extensively with Ja-Prime Minister Peket Ahmadi. Both politicians believed that reform was necessary for Tsiba which, at the time, was a one-party state.

On June 11, 1991, Prime Minister Beshootu Pyvupi was assasinated. As Ja-Prime Minister, Ahmadi assumed her position as both Prime Minister and as leader of the Shooda-Tsiba party. He nominated Shi'upa as his Ja-Prime Minister, and she was sworn in on June 25. As Ja-Prime Minister, Shi'upa worked to open the Parliament to parties outside of the Shooda-Tsiba.

Shi'upa became Prime Minister in 2008 when Ahmadi resigned. She nominated Chavo Lotfi-Vi'achavo as her Ja-Prime Minister.

As Prime Minister, Shi'upa has substantially increased funding for education and welfare while cutting military and defense budgets. This has drawn criticism from within and outside her party. She is also consistently criticized for her lack of support for ethnic minority groups, particularly the Bacada, whom she has openly shown disdain for in the past.

Personal Life

Shi'upa's husband died of lung cancer in 2007, after which she took a three month break from politics. During this time, Ja-Prime Minister Chavo Lotfi-Vi'achavo served as acting Prime Minister. Shi'upa's daughter, Bevoo Emetsi Madani, is a notable stage and film actress in Tsiba.

Shi'upa identifies as non-religious.