William Ferdinand Shija (28 April 1947 – 4 October 2014) was a Tanzanian politician and the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association between 2007 and 2014.

After receiving higher education in India and the United States, he taught communications in Tanzania.

He was a member of the Pan-African Parliament in 2004 and 2005 and chaired the Committee on Education, Culture, Tourism and Human Resources.

[2] He was appointed the first African Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association[3] on September 9, 2006 and took up the position on 1 January 2007.

[2] Dr. Shija was a patron for a Welsh based charity that works extensively in Tanzania.