Baleka Mbete
| Baleka Mbete | |
|---|---|
| Speaker of the National Assembly | |
|
Assumed office 21 May 2014 |
|
| President | Jacob Zuma |
| Preceded by | Max Sisulu |
|
In office 23 April 2004 – 25 September 2008 |
|
| President | Thabo Mbeki |
| Preceded by | Frene Ginwala |
| Succeeded by | Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde |
| Deputy President of South Africa | |
|
In office 25 September 2008 – 9 May 2009 |
|
| President | Kgalema Motlanthe |
| Preceded by | Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka |
| Succeeded by | Kgalema Motlanthe |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 September 1949 Transvaal, South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Keorapetse Kgositsile, Nape Khomo |
Baleka Mbete (born 24 September 1949) is a South African politician who has been Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa since 21 May 2014. Previously she was Speaker of the National Assembly from 2004 to 2008 and Deputy President of South Africa from 2008 to 2009 under Kgalema Motlanthe. She was elected National Chairperson of the African National Congress in 2007 and re-elected in 2012.
Mbete is the ex-wife of poet and activist Keorapetse Kgositsile.
After going into exile in 1976, Mbete taught in Mbabane in Swaziland, and went on to work for the African National Congress (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. She returned to South Africa from exile in June 1990.
Soon after her return, Mbete was elected the secretary-general of ANC Women's League, serving in this position from 1991 to 1993. She was elected as an MP for the ANC in 1994, and was appointed chair of the ANC parliamentary caucus in 1995, and was the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa from 1996 to 2004. Mbete was also a member of the Presidential Panel on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the ANC National Executive Committee, and the Pan-African Parliament.
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