Baleka Mbete facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Baleka Mbete
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mbete in 2016
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th Deputy President of South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 September 2008 – 9 May 2009 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Kgalema Motlanthe | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Kgalema Motlanthe | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 September 1949 Clermont, Durban Natal, Union of South Africa |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | African National Congress | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Inanda Seminary School Lovedale Teachers' College |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Baleka Mbete (born 24 September 1949) is a South African politician. She served as the Deputy President of South Africa from September 2008 to May 2009. She was also the Speaker of the National Assembly for two terms. These terms were from 2004 to 2008 and from 2014 to 2019.
Before becoming Speaker, she was the Deputy Speaker from 1996 to 2004. Baleka Mbete is a member of the African National Congress (ANC). She was first elected to the National Assembly in 1994. She left her seat in 2019.
Baleka Mbete was born in KwaZulu-Natal. She trained as a teacher. She was also an anti-apartheid activist who worked against the unfair system of apartheid. She was part of the Black Consciousness Movement early on. From 1976 to 1990, she lived outside South Africa in exile with the ANC. During this time, she was also a poet and led the Medu Art Ensemble, a cultural group.
When she returned to South Africa, she helped with the talks to end apartheid. She also played a key role in restarting the ANC Women's League. She was the league's secretary-general from 1991 to 1993.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Baleka Mbete was born on 24 September 1949. Her family was from the Hlubi group. She was born in Clermont, a township near Durban. This area was then called Natal Province.
She spent some of her childhood with her grandmother. Her family moved to the Cape Province in 1958. This was so her father could work as a librarian at Fort Hare University. He later lost his job because of his links to the South African Communist Party. Her mother was a nurse. Baleka was the second child and the oldest daughter in her family.
After finishing high school at the Inanda Seminary in 1968, she went to college. She studied at Eshowe Training College and later at Lovedale college. She became a qualified teacher in 1973. She then returned to Durban to teach at a high school in KwaMashu.
Fighting Apartheid
While teaching in Natal, Baleka Mbete joined the Black Consciousness Movement. This group was important in the fight against apartheid. In early 1976, she and her brother were arrested for their political actions. After being released, she left South Africa. She went into exile in Swaziland on 10 April 1976.
Life in Exile: 1976–1990
In exile, Baleka Mbete joined the African National Congress (ANC). This was the main group fighting apartheid. She taught at a high school in Mbabane, Swaziland until 1977. Then she moved to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
In Tanzania, she worked hard for the ANC. She joined the party's information department. She also worked on Radio Freedom, which broadcast messages against apartheid. She was also part of the ANC's Women's Section. She was the regional secretary for this section in Tanzania from 1978 to 1981.
From 1981 to 1983, she worked for the ANC in Nairobi, Kenya. Later, she worked in Gaborone, Botswana (1983 to 1986). She also worked in Harare, Zimbabwe (1986 to 1987) and Lusaka, Zambia (1987 to 1990). Besides her work with the Women's Section, she was involved in arts and education. She led the Medu Art Ensemble. She also published poems under her married name, Baleka Kgositsile.
Returning Home: 1990–1994
Baleka Mbete came back to South Africa from exile in June 1990. In the years that followed, she was part of the ANC's team. This team took part in the talks to end apartheid.
The ANC Women's League was restarted in August 1990. Baleka Mbete was part of the group that helped set it up again. In April 1991, she was elected as the secretary-general of the league. She worked under its president, Gertrude Shope. She served one term in this role. In December 1993, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula took over from her.
Political Career in Government
In South Africa's first democratic elections in April 1994, Baleka Mbete was elected. She became a member of the National Assembly of South Africa. This was the start of her 25 years in the South African Parliament.
In December 1994, she was also elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee. This is a very important group within the ANC. In 1995, she became the leader of the ANC's group in Parliament.
Deputy Speaker: 1996–2004
In May 1996, Baleka Mbete became the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. She worked with Frene Ginwala, who was the Speaker. She took over from Bhadra Ranchod.
After the 1999 general election, she was re-elected as Deputy Speaker. She won against another candidate, getting 326 votes.
First Term as Speaker: 2004–2008
After the 2004 general election, the ANC chose Baleka Mbete to become the Speaker. She took over from Frene Ginwala. She was elected without anyone running against her on 23 April 2004. Gwen Mahlangu became her deputy.
As Speaker, Baleka Mbete worked to make Parliament stronger. She wanted to make sure that Parliament and its committees worked well.
Becoming ANC Chairperson
In December 2007, Baleka Mbete was nominated for a leadership role in the ANC. This was at the party's conference in Polokwane. She was first nominated for a different role. But then she was nominated to be the party chairperson. Another candidate, Tokyo Sexwale, stepped aside for her. He did this to support women in leadership.
On 18 December 2007, Baleka Mbete won the election. She became the ANC national chairperson for five years. She was on the side of Jacob Zuma, who became the new ANC president. She won by a large number of votes.
Deputy President: 2008–2009
On 20 September 2008, the ANC announced that President Thabo Mbeki would resign. He sent his resignation to Baleka Mbete's office.
Many people thought Baleka Mbete might become the next President. This would have made her the first female head of state in South Africa. However, the ANC chose Kgalema Motlanthe to be the President. On 23 September, it was announced that Baleka Mbete would likely become the Deputy President of South Africa. This happened after Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka resigned from the position.
On 25 September 2008, President Motlanthe appointed her as Deputy President.
Break from Parliament: 2009–2014
In the 2009 general election, Baleka Mbete was re-elected to Parliament. But she chose not to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament on 6 May. The new President, Jacob Zuma, announced that Kgalema Motlanthe would be the new Deputy President. The ANC said Baleka Mbete would focus on her party work full-time. She said there was no confusion and that her decision was planned.
She finished her term as ANC national chairperson. She was re-elected for a second term on 18 December 2012. She won against Thandi Modise with 76% of the votes.
Second Term as Speaker: 2014–2019
Baleka Mbete returned to Parliament in the 2014 general election. The ANC nominated her to become Speaker of the National Assembly again. On 21 May 2014, she easily won the vote. She received 260 votes.
Working as Speaker
Baleka Mbete faced some challenges during her second term as Speaker. Some opposition parties said she was biased towards the ANC. They also said she could not be both the ANC chairperson and the Speaker. A debate was held in Parliament, but the motion against her was rejected.
In March 2016, the Constitutional Court made a ruling. It said that the National Assembly, under Baleka Mbete, had not followed the Constitution. This was regarding a report by the Public Protector about the Nkandla homestead.
ANC Presidential Campaign
Before the ANC's conference in December 2017, Baleka Mbete showed interest in becoming the next ANC president. However, the ANC Women's League supported another candidate. Baleka Mbete continued her campaign. On the first night of the conference, she supported Cyril Ramaphosa for president. She did not run for re-election as national chairperson. But she was re-elected to the National Executive Committee.
Leaving Parliament
Before the 2019 general election, Baleka Mbete said she was unsure about her future in politics. She was re-elected to Parliament in May 2019. However, on 20 May, the ANC announced that Thandi Modise would become the new Speaker. The next day, the ANC confirmed that Baleka Mbete had withdrawn her name from the party list. This meant she would not return to Parliament.
In March 2022, Baleka Mbete said she was "done with politics." However, two months later, she was appointed to lead the ANC Women's League temporarily. She led the league until new leaders were elected. In December 2022, she was not re-elected to the National Executive Committee. This was the first time since 1994 that she lost her seat.
Personal Life
Baleka Mbete married Keorapetse Kgositsile, a writer, in 1978. They divorced in 1992. She later married Nape Khomo, a businessman, in 2016. She has three sons and two daughters.
Images for kids
-
Baleka Mbete in 2016.
-
Baleka Mbete (left) meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2006.
-
Baleka Mbete with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif in September 2017.
See also
In Spanish: Baleka Mbete para niños
