Graca Machel
|
Graça Machel DBE |
|
|---|---|
Graça Machel in 2010
|
|
| First Lady of South Africa | |
|
In role 18 July 1998 – 14 June 1999 |
|
| President | Nelson Mandela |
| Preceded by | Winnie Madikizela-Mandela* |
| Succeeded by | Zanele Mbeki |
| Mozambican Minister for Education and Culture | |
|
In office 1975–1989 |
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| First Lady of Mozambique | |
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In role 11 November 1975 – 19 October 1986 |
|
| President | Samora Machel |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Marcelina Chissano |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
17 October 1945 Incadine, Mozambique (then Portuguese East Africa) |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | Josina Z. Machel & Malengani Machel |
| Alma mater | University of Lisbon |
| Profession | Teacher |
| Religion | Methodist |
Graça Machel DBE (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɡɾasɐ mɐˈʃɛɫ]; née Graça Simbine, pronounced: [sĩˈbĩni], 17 October 1945) is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. She is the widow of former South African president Nelson Mandela and of Mozambican president Samora Machel. Machel is an international advocate for women's and children's rights and in 1997 was made a British dame for her humanitarian work.
Graça Machel is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. As a panel member she facilitates coalition building to leverage and broker knowledge, and convenes decision-makers to influence policy for lasting change in Africa.
Graça Machel is the only woman in history to have been first lady of two separate republics, serving as the First Lady of Mozambique from 1975 to 1986 and the First Lady of South Africa from 1998 to 1999.
Graça Simbine was born 17 days after her father's death, the youngest of six children, in rural Incadine, Gaza Province, Portuguese East Africa (modern-day Mozambique). She attended Methodist mission schools before gaining a scholarship to the University of Lisbon in Portugal, where she studied German and first became involved in independence issues. She also speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and English, as well as her native Shangaan language. Simbine returned to Portuguese East Africa in 1973, joining the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) and working as a schoolteacher.
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