Matia Kasaija is a Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

n politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He is the current State Minister for Finance (Planning)

Finance

"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

 in the Cabinet of Uganda

Cabinet of Uganda

According to the Constitution of Uganda, "there shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, the Vice President and such number of Ministers as may appear to the President to be reasonably necessary for the efficient running of the State."...

. He was appointed to that position on 27 May 2011. He replaced Ephraim Kamuntu

Ephraim Kamuntu

Ephraim Kamuntu is a Ugandan economist and politician. He is the current Minister for Tourism in the Ugandan Cabinet. He was appointed to that position on 27 May 2011...

, who was promoted to Minister of Tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

. Before that, he served as the State Minister for Internal Affairs

Internal affairs

Internal affairs may refer to:* Internal affairs of a state* Internal affairs , a division of a law enforcement agency which investigates cases of lawbreaking by members of that agency...

, from 01 June 2006 until May 2011. He is also the elected Member of Parliament for "Buyanja County", Kibaale District

Kibaale District

Kibaale District, sometimes spelled as Kibale District, is a district in Western Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Kibaale, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...

.

Education

He holds the degree of Bachelor of Commerce

Bachelor of Commerce

A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...

 (BCom) from the now defunct University of East Africa

University of East Africa

The University of East Africa was established in 1963 and served Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The University was originally instituted as an independent external college of the University of London. In 1970 it was split into three independent universities which are now:*University of Nairobi...

. The year in which he obtained the degree is not publicly known.

Work experience

During the Ugandan elections of 1980, Matia Kasaija was elected to the Ugandan Parliament. From 1980 until 1981, he served as the State Minister for Labor. From 1981 until 1986, he served as a member of the External Wing of the National Resistance Army

National Resistance Army

The National Resistance Army , the military wing of the National Resistance Movement , was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Luwero War or "the war in the bush", against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.NRA was supported by Muammar...

.

Between 1987 and 1990, he served as the Executive Director

Executive director

Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...

, of the Departed Asian Custodian Board, a government parastatal that was charged with safeguarding the property expropriated from the Asian

Asian people

Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...

s expelled from the country by Idi Amin

Idi Amin

Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...

 in the 1970s. From 1998 until 1998 he served as the Deputy Director for Mass Mobilization at the National Resistance Movement Secretariat

National Resistance Movement

The National Resistance Movement , commonly referred to as the Movement, is a political organization in Uganda.Until a referendum in 2005, Uganda held elections on a non-party basis. The NRM dominates parliament, however, and is expected to continue to do so. The presidential elections of 12 March...

. During the 2006 parliamentary elections, he was elected to the 8th Parliament. In the National elections of 2011, he was re-elected to his parliamentary seat. In the cabinet reshuffle on 27 May 2011, he was re-assigned to the Finance Ministry, as the State Minister for Planning.

Personal details

Matia Kasaija is married. He is reported to enjoy travel

Travel

Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...

, swimming, reading

Reading (process)

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning . It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas...

, and sports.