Graça Machel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Graça Machel
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Graça Machel in 2010
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| First Lady of South Africa | |||||||||||||||
| In role 18 July 1998 – 14 June 1999 |
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| President | Nelson Mandela | ||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Zindzi Mandela Zenani Mandela |
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| Succeeded by | Zanele Mbeki | ||||||||||||||
| First Lady of Mozambique | |||||||||||||||
| In role 11 November 1975 – 19 October 1986 |
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| President | Samora Machel | ||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Marcelina Chissano | ||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||
| Born |
Graça Simbine
17 October 1945 Incadine, Portuguese Mozambique |
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| Political party | FRELIMO (1973–present) African National Congress (1998–present) |
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| Spouses | |||||||||||||||
| Children | 2, including Josina Z. Machel | ||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Mandela family (by marriage) | ||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Lisbon | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Teacher, politician, activist | ||||||||||||||
Graça Machel (born October 17, 1945) is a famous politician and humanitarian from Mozambique. She works hard to protect the rights of women and children around the world. Queen Elizabeth II even gave her a special award in 1997 for her amazing work helping people.
Graça Machel is the only woman in modern history to have been the First Lady of two countries. She was the First Lady of Mozambique and later the First Lady of South Africa. She was married to Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique, and later to Nelson Mandela, the first post-apartheid president of South Africa.
She is also a member of the Africa Progress Panel. This group of ten important people works to help Africa grow in a fair and lasting way. Graça Machel helps bring people together to share knowledge and make important decisions for Africa's future.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Graça Simbine was born on October 17, 1945, in a village called Incadine, in what was then Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique). She was the youngest of six children. Sadly, her father passed away just 17 days before she was born.
She went to Methodist mission schools. Later, she received a scholarship to study at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. While there, she studied the German language and became interested in her country's fight for independence.
Graça Machel is very good with languages. She speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and English. She also speaks her native Xitsonga language.
Political Career
Graça Simbine returned to Portuguese East Africa in 1973. She joined the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), a group fighting for Mozambique's freedom. She worked as a schoolteacher during this time.
After Mozambique gained its independence in 1975, Graça Simbine was chosen for a very important job. On June 25, 1975, she became Mozambique's first Minister of Education and Culture.
During her time as Minister, she made a huge difference in education. The number of students going to primary and secondary schools grew a lot. For boys, it went from about 40% to over 90%. For girls, it went up to 75%. This shows how much she helped children get an education.
Later Career and Global Work
Graça Machel has received many awards for her work. In 1992, she won the Africa Prize for helping to fight hunger in Africa. In 1995, the United Nations gave her the Nansen Medal. This award recognized her long history of helping people, especially refugee children.
In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II honored her with the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This was for her important work in protecting human rights. She also received the Global Citizen Award that same year. In 1998, she won the North–South Prize from the Council of Europe.
From 1999 to 2019, Graça Machel was the chancellor of the University of Cape Town. This is a very important role in a university. In 2009, she joined the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group. This group advises the Commonwealth of Nations.
In 2012, she became the president of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Since 2016, she has been the chancellor of the African Leadership University.
In 2018, the World Health Organization gave her an award. This was for her contributions to the health and well-being of women, children, and teenagers.
On July 17, 2018, Graça Machel attended the 16th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture. This event celebrated 100 years since Nelson Mandela's birth. About 15,000 people attended, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and former US President Barack Obama.
Graça Machel also speaks out about climate change. She believes that young people in Africa should have a bigger say in climate decisions. She has warned that money for education might be used for climate change solutions instead.
Work with the United Nations
After leaving her role as Minister in Mozambique, Graça Machel became an expert for the United Nations. She wrote an important report about how armed conflicts affect children.
From 2008 to 2009, she was part of a special group. This group looked for new ways to fund health systems around the world. She also led The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health from 2013 to 2018. In 2016, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed her to a high-level group for the "Every Woman Every Child" initiative.
On January 17, 2016, she was chosen as a Sustainable Development Goals Advocate. She was one of 17 people appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to promote these important global goals.
The Elders
On July 18, 2007, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, and Desmond Tutu started a group called The Elders. Nelson Mandela announced the group on his 89th birthday.
The Elders work on important global issues. These include peace in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, issues on the Korean Peninsula, and problems in Sudan and South Sudan. They also work on sustainable development and equality for girls and women.
Graça Machel has been very involved in The Elders' work to stop child marriage. She helped start "Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage." This group works to end child marriage around the world.
Other Important Activities
Graça Machel is involved with many other groups and organizations.
- She is the chairwoman of the board of directors for Whatana Investment Group.
- She is the chairwoman of the international board of trustees for the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF).
- She is the chairwoman of the board of trustees for ACCORD since 2008.
- She is the chair of the Eminent Advisory Board for the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA).
- She is a member of the board for the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
- She is the chairwoman of the board of trustees for the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital.
- She is the founder and president of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC) since 1994.
- She is the honorary chairwoman of the board of directors for VillageReach.
- She was a co-founder and former board member of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) since 1992.
Personal Life
Graça Simbine married Samora Machel, who became the first president of Mozambique, in 1975. They had two children together: a daughter named Josina (born in April 1976) and a son named Malengane (born in December 1978). Sadly, Samora Machel died in 1986 when his plane crashed. Josina, their daughter, is now a well-known activist for women's rights.
Graça Machel married her second husband, Nelson Mandela, on July 18, 1998. This was also Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday. At that time, Mandela was the first president of South Africa after apartheid ended. Nelson Mandela passed away on December 5, 2013.
Awards and Recognition
Graça Machel has received many honors and awards from around the world for her dedication to helping others.
Honours
Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, 1997 (
Spain).
Honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), 1997 (
United Kingdom).- Honorary Fellow of the British Academy (Hon FBA), 2017 ( United Kingdom).
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Awards
- Nansen Medal of the United Nations, 1995 (
United Nations). - Global Citizen Award of the New England Circle, 1997.
- InterAction's Humanitarian Award, 1997.
- North-South Prize of the Council of Europe, 1998 (
Council of Europe). - Princess of Asturias Award (International Cooperation), 1998 ( Spain).
- World's Children's Prize (with Nelson Mandela), 2005.
- Decade Child Rights Hero (with Nelson Mandela) by 7.1 million children through a Global Vote, 2010.
- World Health Organization Gold Medal, 2018 (
WHO). - Major award from CARE for her long work helping children.
Honorary Doctorates
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (Hon. DHL) from the University of Massachusetts, 2006 (
USA). - Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa (DPhil h.c.) from the University of Stellenbosch, 2008 (
South Africa). - Doctor honoris causa (Dr. h.c.) by University of Barcelona, 2008 ( Spain).
- Doctor honoris causa (Dr. h.c.) by University of Évora, 2008 (
Portugal). - Doctor in Laws honoris causa (LL.D. h.c.) by Trinity College Dublin, 2015 (
Ireland). - Doctor honoris causa (Dr. h.c.) by Leiden University, 2021 (
Netherlands).
See also
In Spanish: Graça Machel para niños
