PIONEER
Baleka Mbete
Politician | Negotiator | Constitution drafter
Born : 24 September 1949
“Theme Committee 6, which I chaired, was charged with the task of dealing with the Land Commission, among other things. It was for this reason that the debates of Theme Committee 4 on the property clause and the provisions of Section 26 in the Interim Constitution, which dealt with the right to free economic activity, was of interest to me. I would join the debates in Theme Committee 4 and ultimately we drew the provisions of land reform and restitution into the provisions of Section 25 of the Bill of Rights, namely the property clause … We are cautiously optimistic that land reform, restitution and redistribution will be accelerated with the enactment of the relevant legislation, and that this will help realise the aspirations of the Freedom Charter, which inspired hope and served as the framework for our Bill of Rights.”
Who is
Baleka Mbete?
Anti-apartheid activist who served as the first Secretary General of the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) once the ANC was unbanned, she continued to serve in leadership positions after 1994 including as Speaker of the National Assembly and Deputy President of South Africa.
Professions
and Roles
Politician, anti-apartheid activist in exile, Secretary General of the ANCWL, ANC negotiator, Constitution drafter, Speaker of the National Assembly, Deputy President of South Africa.
Best Known For
ANC negotiator on the new Constitution, focusing on ensuring poor and gender sensitivity. Mbete contributed to both the Theme Committee 1 and 4 negotiations.
Life highlights
- After graduating from high school in 1975, Mbete became active in the Black Consciousness Movement and established contact with the ANC’s underground structures.
- She went into exile in Swaziland after being arrested for her involvement in political activities. She subsequently moved to Tanzania where she became the first secretary of the regional women’s section of the ANC.
- Mbete served as the first Secretary General of the ANCWL once the ANC was unbanned.
- She was elected as the National Convenor of the Progressive Women’s Movement of South Africa in 2006.
- Mbete was appointed in 1996 as Deputy Speaker of the new Parliament, and spearheaded the formulation of the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.
- She served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2004 to 2008, and as Deputy President of South Africa from 2008 to 2009.
- Mbete served as the National Chairperson of the ANC Centennial Celebrations in 2012.
- Mbete was awarded the 2016 King Legacy Award for distinguished leadership roles and for making a positive contribution to the global community, by the Martin Luther King Jr Foundation in the USA.
- She served again as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2014 to 2019.
After going into exile in 1976, Mbete taught in Mbabane in Swaziland, and went on to work for the ANC in several other African cities, including Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Nairobi in Kenya, Gaborone in Botswana, Harare in Zimbabwe, and Lusaka in Zambia.
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