Ronnie Kasrils
| Ronnie Kasrils | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Intelligence Services | |
|
In office 27 April 2004 – 25 September 2008 |
|
| President | Thabo Mbeki |
| Preceded by | Lindiwe Sisulu |
| Succeeded by | Siyabonga Cwele |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 November 1938 |
| Political party | South African Communist Party |
| Other political affiliations |
African National Congress |
Ronald "Ronnie" Kasrils (born 15 November 1938) is a South African politician. He was Minister for Intelligence Services from 27 April 2004 to 25 September 2008. He was a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1987 to 2007 as well as a member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party (SACP) from December 1986 to 2007.
Kasrils' grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Latvia and Lithuania who fled from Czarist pogroms at the end of the 19th century. He is the son of Rene (born Cohen) and Isidore Kasrils. His father was a factory salesman. His mother worked as a shop assistant prior to her marriage. Kasrils matriculated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. He subsequently became a script writer for films in Johannesburg from 1958 to 1960 before accepting a position as a television and film director for Lever Brothers' advertising division in Durban from 1960 to 1962.
The Sharpeville massacre radicalised Kasrils against the Apartheid system and he joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1960, becoming secretary of the Congress of Democrats in Natal in 1961, the same year he joined the South African Communist Party. In 1962, he received a five-year banning order prohibiting him from public speaking. He was a founding member of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) as member of Natal Regional Command during the same year. He became the commander of Natal Regional Command in 1963. He underwent military training in 1964 in Odessa, USSR and at the end of 1965 was sent to London to work for the movement there. During this time Kasrils worked with Yusuf Dadoo, Joe Slovo and Jack Hodgson and they formed a special committee (1966–76) to develop underground activities in South Africa from the United Kingdom. During this time he trained various people including Raymond Suttner, Jeremy Cronin, Ahmed Timol, Alex Moumbaris] Tim Jenkins and Dave and Sue Rabkin, with the aim of establishing underground propaganda units in South Africa. He served the ANC and was based in London, Luanda, Maputo, Swaziland, Botswana, Lusaka and Harare. Kasrils eventually became a member of MK's High Command and was appointed as Chief of MK Intelligence in 1983.
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