Sergei Shamba (Abkhaz: Сергеи Шамба, Georgian: სერგეი შამბა) is a senior politician from Abkhazia.
[3] Throughout his time as foreign minister, it often fell to Shamba to defend Abkhazia's separation from Georgia in the international media.
Though he has headed several Abkhaz delegations to United Nations-sponsored talks with Georgia, Abkhazia has failed to receive any international recognition.
[2] Shamba resigned from the post of foreign minister on June 14, 2004, citing a number of reasons, such as the murder, five days before, of fellow opposition leader Garri Aiba and the upcoming presidential elections.
Shamba was one of the favorites to receive the nomination of the newly forged Amtsakhara-United Abkhazia opposition alliance for the October 2004 presidential elections.
During the crisis on 15 October Shamba had founded the Social-Democratic Party of Abkhazia along with other people from his election campaign, chief of staff Gennadi Alamia became its first chairman.
The election resulted in a second term for Sergei Bagapsh, and on 13 February 2010, Shamba was appointed prime minister,[10] succeeding Alexander Ankvab, who had become vice president.
Shamba's vice presidential candidate was deputy chairman of the State Committee for Youth Affairs and Sport Shamil Adzynba.
Shamba himself has stated that he wanted to make way for younger politicians, hoping that Abkhazia had entered a new phase of sustained development and conflict-free transfers of power.
[29][30] On 27 January 2016, Shamba was elected Chairman of United Abkhazia during its sixth congress, after Daur Tarba had resigned the role on 1 October 2015.