Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma

Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, born on January twenty-seventh, nineteen forty-nine, is a prominent South African politician, medical doctor, and former anti-apartheid activist. A dedicated member of the African National Congress (ANC), she currently holds the esteemed position of Chancellor at the University of Limpopo. Dlamini-Zuma's journey began in the former Natal province, where her involvement in the Black Consciousness Movement through the South African Students' Organisation marked the start of her lifelong commitment to social justice.

Her activism led her to live in exile from nineteen seventy-six to nineteen ninety, primarily in the United Kingdom and Swaziland. During this time, she practiced medicine while continuing her work with the ANC. Since the dawn of democracy in South Africa in nineteen ninety-four, Dlamini-Zuma has been a key figure in the cabinet of every post-apartheid president. She served as Minister of Health under Nelson Mandela and held the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs for a decade under Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe.

In the cabinet of President Jacob Zuma, she took on the role of Minister of Home Affairs, where she was recognized for revitalizing a previously dysfunctional department. Under President Cyril Ramaphosa, she briefly served as Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and later as Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, overseeing the National Planning Commission. Her tenure as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs was marked by her significant and sometimes controversial role in managing South Africa's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between October two thousand twelve and January two thousand seventeen, Dlamini-Zuma was the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, making history as the first woman to lead either that organization or its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity. Her leadership in this role was not without controversy. A member of the ANC's National Executive Committee since the early nineteen nineties, she has made two attempts to secure leadership positions within the party, narrowly losing the presidency to Cyril Ramaphosa at the ANC's fifty-fourth National Conference in two thousand seventeen.