2nd and 5th Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa
In office 21 May 2014 – 21 May 2019
President
Jacob Zuma Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy
Lechesa Tsenoli
Preceded by
Max Sisulu
Succeeded by
Thandi Modise
In office 12 July 2004 – 25 September 2008
President
Thabo Mbeki
Deputy
Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde
Preceded by
Frene Ginwala
Succeeded by
Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde
Other legislative offices
Member of the National Assembly
In office 9 May 1994 – 9 May 2009
In office 21 May 2014 – 7 May 2019
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly
In office May 1996 – April 2004
President
Nelson Mandela Thabo Mbeki
Speaker
Frene Ginwala
Preceded by
Bhadra Ranchod
Succeeded by
Lechesa Tsenoli
Party offices
National Chairperson of the African National Congress
In office 18 December 2007 – 18 December 2017
President
Jacob Zuma
Preceded by
Mosiuoa Lekota
Succeeded by
Gwede Mantashe
Secretary-General of the African National Congress Women's League
In office April 1991 – December 1993
President
Gertrude Shope
Succeeded by
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
Personal details
Born
(1949-09-24) 24 September 1949 (age 74) Clermont, Durban Natal, Union of South Africa
Political party
African National Congress
Spouses
Nape Khomo
(m. 2016)
Keorapetse Kgositsile
(m. 1978; div. 1992)
Education
Inanda Seminary School Lovedale Teachers' College
Baleka Mbete (born 24 September 1949) is a South African politician who was the Deputy President of South Africa from September 2008 to May 2009. She was also the Speaker of the National Assembly for two non-consecutive terms from 2004 to 2008 and from 2014 to 2019. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she was first elected to the National Assembly in 1994 and stepped down from her seat in 2019.
Born in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbete is a teacher by training and a former anti-apartheid activist, initially through the Black Consciousness Movement. Between 1976 and 1990, she was stationed with the ANC in exile outside South Africa; during this period, she was also a prominent cultural activist as a poet and the head of the Medu Art Ensemble. Upon her return to South Africa, she represented the ANC at the negotiations to end apartheid and was a central figure in the relaunch of the ANC Women's League, serving as the league's secretary-general from 1991 to 1993.
Mbete was elected to the National Assembly in the first post-apartheid elections in 1994 and served in her seat until 2019, with the exception of a hiatus from 2009 to 2014. Her rise through the institution began in 1996, when she was elected as Deputy Speaker, and continued during the third democratic Parliament, when she succeeded Frene Ginwala as the second Speaker. In the last year of the third Parliament, she ascended to the Deputy Presidency during the reshuffle occasioned by the resignation of President Thabo Mbeki in September 2008; she held the office during the brief term of Mbeki's successor, President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Although she declined to return to Parliament after the 2009 general election, Mbete returned in May 2014 in her former office as Speaker of the National Assembly. She left her parliamentary seat again after the 2019 general election, though she remained active in the ANC Women's League.
A member of the ANC since 1976, Mbete served as the party's National Chairperson from December 2007 to December 2017 during Jacob Zuma's presidency. She was a member of the ANC National Executive Committee from 1994 to 2022.
BalekaMbete (born 24 September 1949) is a South African politician who was the Deputy President of South Africa from September 2008 to May 2009. She was...
given that responsibility, he would be equal to the task." However, BalekaMbete, the incumbent Speaker of the National Assembly and an ally of Zuma,...
speaker. Following the 2014 General Elections, Sisulu was replaced by BalekaMbete as Speaker of the National Assembly. He is a member of the African National...
2014. At its opening session, the National Assembly elected the ANC's BalekaMbete to succeed Max Sisulu as Speaker of the National Assembly; she comfortably...
December 1997, a position which he held until 2007. He was succeeded by BalekaMbete. Following the resignation of President Thabo Mbeki in September 2008...
said was related to an investigation into state capture. Mid-afternoon, BalekaMbete, the Speaker of the National Assembly, announced that the EFF's motion...
of the ANC. She was nominated from the floor of the conference when BalekaMbete, the frontrunner until then, withdrew her name to stand instead for the...
team of the ANCWL; in this capacity she, alongside task team convenor BalekaMbete, will lead the league until it elects a new leadership corps. Ahead of...
his name and endorsed BalekaMbete, the Speaker of the National Assembly, citing his commitment to "the empowerment of women." Mbete was then nominated for...
National Council of Provinces Chairperson, Thandi Modise, would succeed BalekaMbete as Speaker of the National Assembly. Amos Masondo was named the new Chairperson...
which the Hawks said was related to an investigation into state capture. BalekaMbete, the Speaker of the National Assembly, announced that the EFF's motion...
1955) 14 June 2005 23 September 2008 (resigned) 3 years, 101 days 5 BalekaMbete (born 1949) 25 September 2008 9 May 2009 (term ended) 226 days Kgalema...
Zapiro and former Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, BalekaMbete are among the alumni of the university. Kindly refer to List of Notable...
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mbeki, second president of South Africa Moeletsi Mbeki BalekaMbete Nomafrench Mbombo A.P. Mda Membathisi Mdladlana Nomakhosazana Meth Nomaindia...
led by Zuma, followed by Motlanthe, Deputy President of South Africa BalekaMbete, finance minister Trevor Manuel and Winnie Mandela, former wife of Nelson...
Assembly of the 25th parliament. The Speaker of the National Assembly, BalekaMbete and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Thandi Modise,...
Constitution of South Africa, along with the Speaker of the National Assembly BalekaMbete. The President was given 60 days to fulfill the requirements of the Public...
assumes the position of acting president. On 7 August 2017, Speaker BalekaMbete announced that she would permit a motion of no confidence in Jacob Zuma's...
G. Ranchod (1994-1996) BalekaMbete (1996–2004) Preceded by Gene Louw (Speaker of House of Assembly) Succeeded by BalekaMbete Chancellor of the University...
Freedom Fighters – approached the Speaker of the National Assembly, BalekaMbete, with a request to schedule a motion of no confidence in the President...
May 1994 12 July 2004 10 years, 64 days African National Congress 2 BalekaMbete (born 1949) 12 July 2004 25 September 2008 4 years, 75 days African National...
to confrontations between them and Speaker of the National Assembly BalekaMbete, considered by some to be partial to Zuma in her management of parliamentary...
President Jacob Zuma Cyril Ramaphosa Speaker BalekaMbete Thandi Modise Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula Preceded by BalekaMbete Minister of Cooperative Governance and...
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