Kgalema Motlanthe

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Kgalema Motlanthe
President of South Africa
Incumbent
Assumed office  25 September 2008
Deputy	Baleka Mbete
Preceded by	Thabo Mbeki
Deputy President of the African National Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office  2007
Preceded by	Jacob Zuma
Secretary-General of the African National Congress
In office 1997 – 2007
Preceded by	Cyril Ramaphosa
Succeeded by	Gwede Mantashe
Born	19 July 1949 (1949-07-19) (age 59) Alexandra, Johannesburg, South Africa
Political party	African National Congress
Religion	Anglican

Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (pronounced [ˈk͡xɑ.lɪ.mɑ mʊ.ˈt͡ɬ’ɑ.n.tʰɛ])^[1] (born 19 July 1949) is the President of South Africa and Deputy President of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). He is a former student activist, trade unionist and member of the ANC's military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe.^[2] He was appointed president of South Africa by the South African National Assembly on 25 September 2008 after the resignation of Thabo Mbeki, and, according to the ANC leadership, will hold the role until the 2009 general election, when (assuming the ANC wins) Jacob Zuma is expected to become president. He is South Africa's first Tswana speaking President.^[3] Motlanthe, a left-leaning intellectual, is seen as a highly skilled political operator and the brains behind the Zuma faction of the ANC.^[4][5]

[edit] Early life

Motlanthe was born on 19 July 1949 in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, the son of a mineworker^[6] and a garment worker, Sophie Motlanthe.^[7] He attended the Anglican Missionary school now known as Pholoso Primary and matriculated from Orlando High School in Meadowlands, Soweto after his family was forcibly removed there in 1959.^[7] The formative influence in his early years was the Anglican Church.^[8] He served as an altar boy for many years and at one point thought of becoming a priest.

In the 1970s, while working for the Johannesburg City Council, he was recruited into Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC. He formed part of a unit tasked with recruiting comrades for military training.^[9] On 14 April 1976, he was arrested for furthering the aims of the ANC and was kept in detention for 11 months at John Vorster Square in central Johannesburg. In 1977 he was found guilty of three charges under the Terrorism Act and sentenced to an effective 10 years imprisonment on Robben Island, from 1977 to 1987.^[10][11] According to the 1977 Survey of Race Relations Survey: "they were alleged to have undergone training for sabotage, promoted ANC activities, and received explosives for sabotage. All pleaded not guilty. Mr Justice Human found Nkosi and Mothlanthe [sic] guilty and sentenced them to effective jail sentences of 10 years each. Mosoeu was acquitted."

On his years in prison:

"We were a community of people who ranged from the totally illiterate to people who could very easily have been professors at universities. We shared basically everything. The years out there were the most productive years in one's life, we were able to read, we read all the material that came our way, took an interest in the lives of people even in the remotest corners of this world. To me those years gave meaning to life."^[8]

– Kgalema Motlanthe

Shortly after his release he was elected Secretary-General of the National Union of Mineworkers. In January 1992 the Central Executive Committee elected him acting General Secretary in January over Marcel Golding, and in 1997 he was elected Secretary-General of the ANC, replacing Cyril Ramaphosa.^[6] He is married with two daughters and a son.^[10]

[edit] Minister and Member of Parliament

Motlanthe was elected Deputy President of the African National Congress at the party's 52nd National Conference in Polokwane in December 2007, defeating the Mbeki camp's choice of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.^[12] The new ANC leadership, dominated by supporters of Jacob Zuma, applied pressure on President Thabo Mbeki to appoint Motlanthe to the cabinet. He became a Member of Parliament in May 2008^[13] and in July was appointed to the cabinet by Mbeki as Minister without Portfolio. This was seen as a step towards a smooth transition to a future Zuma government.^[14][15]

Following a resolution by the ANC National Executive Commission to "recall" Mbeki from the presidency, Mbeki announced his resignation on 20 September 2008. On 23 September, Nathi Mthethwa, the ANC's Chief Whip, announced that Mbeki's resignation would take effect on 25 September 2008, and ANC President Jacob Zuma said that his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe, would become president until the 2009 general election: "I am convinced – if given that responsibility – he (Motlanthe) would be equal to the task."^[16][17]

[edit] Presidency

On 25 September 2008, Kgalema Motlanthe was elected by Parliament as the third post-apartheid President of South Africa. The Chief Justice, Pius Langa, announced Motlanthe's election after a secret parliamentary ballot contested between Motlanthe and Joe Seremane from the opposition Democratic Alliance.^[18] In the ballot, Motlanthe gained 269 votes from the 351 cast.^[19]

Motlanthe has expressed his desire to address AIDS in South Africa using conventional scientific approaches. He appointed Barbara Hogan to replace Mbeki's health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who had denounced anti-retroviral drugs as poisons and advised the use of olive oil, garlic, and beetroot by HIV-positive persons.^[20] In early March 1998 he led the ANC's charge against the Medicines Control Council for refusing to allow the testing of Virodene on human subjects. He suggested that the MCC was acting under the sway of rival pharmaceutical manufacturers^[8] saying "I surmise that the council is driven by other interests than concern for proper control of medicines".

Motlanthe caused some controversy in South Africa when he did not reinstate the Head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Vusi Pikoli in December 2008^[21]. A Parliamentary Committee has until 9 February 2009 to make their recommendation on whether to approve Pikoli's dismissal^[22].

President Motlanthe gave his first State of the Nation Address on 6 February 2009^[23].

[edit] Personal

Motlanthe is separated from his wife Mapula Motlanthe, a radiographer who used to work at Leratong Hospital in Mogale City. They were separated before he became President of South Africa.^[24][25] He and his mistress, businesswoman Gugu Mtshali, will reportedly move into a "Bali-style" rented mansion in Houghton, Gauteng.^[26]

[edit] See also

• Cabinet of Kgalema Motlanthe

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Official profile at the presidency site
• "ANC Policy won't change"
• Who is Kgalema Motlanthe?
• Kgalema Motlanthe at Who's Who of Southern Africa

Kgalema Motlanthe v • d • e African National Congress Leaders Secretary-General S. T. Plaatje (1912 - 1915) • R. V. S. Thema (1915 - 1917) • I. Bud-M'belle (1917 - 1919) • S. Msane (1919 - 1923) • T. D. Mweli-Skota (1923 - 1927) • E. J. Khaile (1927 - 1930) • E. Mdolomba (1930 - 1936) • J. A. Calata (1936 - 1949) • W. M. U. Sisulu (1949 - 1955) • O. R. Tambo (1955 - 1958) • P. P. D. Nokwe (1958 - 1969) • A. B. Nzo (1969 - 1991) • M. C. Ramaphosa (1991 - 1997) • K. Motlanthe (1997 - 2007) • G. Mantashe (2007 - present) President J. L. Dube (1912 - 1917) • S. M. Makgatho (1917 - 1924) • Z. R. Mahabane (1924 - 1927) • J. T. Gumede (1927 - 1930) • P. ka Isaka Seme (1930 - 1936) • Mahabane (1937 - 1940) • Xuma (1940 - 1949) • J. S. Moroka (1949 - 1952) • A. J. Lutuli (1952 - 1967) • O. R. Tambo (1967 - 1991) • N. R. Mandela (1991 - 1997) • T. M. Mbeki (1997 - 2007) • J. G. Zuma (2007-present) Deputy President N. R. Mandela (1952 - 1958) • O. R. Tambo (1958-1985) • N. R. Mandela (1985 - 1991) • W. M. U. Sisulu (1991 - 1994) • T. M. Mbeki (1994 - 1997) • J. G. Zuma (1997 - 2007) • K. Motlanthe (2007 - present) • National Conferences 38th (1949) • 39th (1950) • 40th (1951) • 41st (1952) • 42nd (1953) • 43rd (1954) • 44th (1955) • 45th (1957) • 46th (1958) • 47th (1959) • 48th (1991) • 49th (1994) • 50th (1997) • 51st (2002) • 52nd (2007) Structure and Wings ANC Women's League • ANC Youth League • National Executive Committee • Umkhonto we Sizwe • Progressive ANC Voters Network Related organizations Tripartite Alliance Related articles National Democratic Revolution v • d • e Ministers of Thabo Mbeki's second government (2004-2008) Deputy President Jacob Zuma (2004-2005) • Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (2005-2008) Ministers Lulama Xingwana (Agriculture and Land Affairs) • Pallo Jordan (Arts and Culture) • Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri (Communications) • Ngconde Balfour (Correctional Services) • Mosiuoa Lekota (Defence) • Naledi Pandor (Education) • Marthinus van Schalkwyk (Environmental Affairs and Tourism) • Trevor Manuel (Finance) • Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (Foreign Affairs) • Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (Health) • Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula (Home Affairs) • Lindiwe Sisulu (Housing) • Ronnie Kasrils (Intelligence Services) • Brigitte Mabandla (Justice and Constitutional Development) • Membathisi Mdladlana (Labour) • Buyelwa Sonjica (Minerals and Energy) • Sydney Mufamadi (Provincial and Local Government) • Alex Erwin (Public Enterprises) • Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi (Public Service and Administration) • Thoko Didiza (Agriculture and Land Affairs) • Charles Nqakula (Safety and Security) • Mosibudi Mangena (Science and Technology) • Zola Skweyiya (Social Development) • Makhenkesi Stofile (Sport and Recreation) • Essop Pahad (The Presidency) • Mandisi Mpahlwa (Trade and Industry) • Jeff Radebe (Transport) • Lindiwe Hendricks (Water Affairs and Forestry) • Kgalema Motlanthe (2008) (Without portfolio) v • d • e Ministers of Kgalema Motlanthe's government (2008- ) Deputy President Baleka Mbete Ministers Lulama Xingwana (Agriculture and Land Affairs) • Pallo Jordan (Arts and Culture) • Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri (Communications) • Ngconde Balfour (Correctional Services) • Charles Nqakula (Defence) • Naledi Pandor (Education) • Marthinus van Schalkwyk (Environmental Affairs and Tourism) • Trevor Manuel (Finance) • Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (Foreign Affairs) • Barbara Hogan (Health) • Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula (Home Affairs) • Lindiwe Sisulu (Housing) • Siyabonga Cwele (Intelligence Services) • Enver Surty (Justice and Constitutional Development) • Membathisi Mdladlana (Labour) • Buyelwa Sonjica (Minerals and Energy) • Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (The Presidency) • Sicelo Shiceka (Provincial and Local Government) • Brigitte Mabandla (Public Enterprises) • Richard Baloyi (Public Service and Administration) • Geoff Doidge (Public Works) • Nathi Mthethwa (Safety and Security) • Mosibudi Mangena (Science and Technology) • Zola Skweyiya (Social Development) • Makhenkesi Stofile (Sport and Recreation) • Mandisi Mpahlwa (Trade and Industry) • Jeff Radebe (Transport) • Lindiwe Hendricks (Water Affairs and Forestry) v • d • e Presidents of South Africa 1961–1994 ceremonial Charles Robberts Swart · Jozua François Naudé * · Jacobus Johannes Fouché · Nicolaas Johannes Diederichs · Marais Viljoen * · B. J. Vorster · Marais Viljoen executive Pieter Willem Botha · Frederik Willem de Klerk since 1994 Nelson Mandela · Thabo Mbeki · Kgalema Motlanthe