Patricia de Lille
| Patricia de Lille | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 33rd Mayor of Cape Town | |
|
Assumed office 1 June 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Dan Plato |
| Western Cape Provincial Minister of Social Development | |
|
In office 22 September 2010 – 31 May 2011 |
|
| Premier | Helen Zille |
| Preceded by | Ivan Meyer |
| Succeeded by | Albert Fritz |
| Leader of the Independent Democrats | |
|
In office April 2003 – May 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished |
| Member of Parliament | |
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In office May 1994 – September 2010 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
17 February 1951 Beaufort West, Cape Province, Union of South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Political party | Democratic Alliance (2010– ) |
| Other political affiliations |
Independent Democrats (2003–2010), Pan Africanist Congress (1987–2003) |
| Profession | Journalist, Politician |
| Religion | Protestant |
Patricia de Lille (born 17 February 1951) is a South African politician and Mayor of Cape Town. She was the founder and the leader of the Independent Democrats, a South African political party which she formed in 2003 during a floor-crossing window. On 15 August 2010, the ID merged with the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's official opposition, and de Lille took on dual party membership until her party was fully dissolved in May 2014.
On 14 March 2011, De Lille beat Grant Pascoe, Shehaam Sims and incumbent Dan Plato to become the DA's mayoral candidate in Cape Town, ahead of the 2011 local government elections. She was declared the mayor-elect by the IEC on 20 May 2011.
De Lille was voted 22nd in the Top 100 Great South Africans, and is noted for her role in investigations into the country's controversial Arms Deal.
De Lille was born in 1951 in Beaufort West, and attended Bastiaanse Hoërskool. In 1974 she became a laboratory technician at a factory. She remained involved with the same company until 1990. During this time, she became involved in the South African Chemical Workers Union, starting off as a shop steward and then becoming regional secretary, before being elected to National Executive Member in 1983. In 1988 she was elected as National Vice-President of The National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU), the highest position for a woman in the trade union movement at that time.
In 1989 De Lille was elected onto the National Executive Committee of the Pan Africanist Movement (PAM). In 1994 she led a delegation in the constitutional negotiations that preceded South Africa's first democratic election in 1994, and was then appointed the position as Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport from 1994–1999. She also served on various portfolio Committees including Health, Minerals and Energy, Trade and Industry, Communications, the Rules Committee and the Code of Ethics.
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