Mmusi Maimane facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mmusi Maimane
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| 19th Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 29 May 2014 – 24 October 2019 |
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| President | Jacob Zuma Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Preceded by | Lindiwe Mazibuko |
| Succeeded by | John Steenhuisen |
| Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance | |
| In office 10 May 2015 – 23 October 2019 |
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| Chair | Athol Trollip |
| Preceded by | Helen Zille |
| Succeeded by | John Steenhuisen |
| Member of the National Assembly of South Africa | |
| Assumed office 14 June 2024 |
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| Constituency | National |
| In office 21 May 2014 – 24 October 2019 |
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| Constituency | Gauteng |
| National Spokesperson of the Democratic Alliance | |
| In office November 2011 – 6 May 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Lindiwe Mazibuko |
| Succeeded by | Marius Redelinghuys Phumzile van Damme |
| Leader of Build One South Africa | |
| Assumed office 24 September 2022 |
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| Deputy | Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Mmusi Aloysias Maimane
6 June 1980 Krugersdorp, Transvaal Province, South Africa |
| Political party |
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| Other political affiliations |
One South Africa Movement (2020–present) |
| Spouse |
Natalie Maimane
(m. 2005) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Allen Glen High School University of the Witwatersrand (BA) University of South Africa (MPA) Bangor University (ThM) |
| Occupation |
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Mmusi Aloysias Maimane (born 6 June 1980) is a South African politician, businessman, and leader of Build One South Africa, a political party. Maimane is also the former Leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) political party from 10 May 2015 to 23 October 2019, and the former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of South Africa from 29 May 2014 to 24 October 2019. He became the first black South African to lead the DA.
Maimane is the former leader of the DA in the Johannesburg City Council and the DA National Spokesperson. In 2011, he was elected to be the DA's Johannesburg mayoral candidate in the 2011 municipal elections. In that election, Maimane helped to grow the party's voter base, but was not elected mayor. Thereafter he served as Leader of the Official Opposition on the Johannesburg City Council until May 2014. In addition to his political career, he is also a pastor and elder at Liberty Church. He formed the One South Africa Movement in 2020. Mmusi Maimane launched his new political party, Build One South Africa on 24 September 2022.
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Early life and education
Maimane was born on 6 June 1980 in the Leratong Hospital in Krugersdorp. His mother, Ethel Maimane, grew up in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape, and is of Xhosa ancestry in the Sidloyi clan. His father, Simon Maimane, was born in Soweto, and is of Tswana ancestry in the Bafokeng clan. His parents met in 1977 and were married by 1980 in Dobsonville, Soweto.
Maimane grew up in Soweto, and attended Raucall and then Allen Glen High School, where he matriculated in 1997. Maimane graduated from the University of South Africa with a BA in Psychology, the University of the Witwatersrand with a Masters in Public Administration, and Bangor University in Wales with a Masters in Theology.
Early career
In 2010, Maimane applied to run as a DA candidate for Johannesburg City Council and also for internal election as the DA candidate for Mayor of Johannesburg. In March 2011, his mayoral candidacy was announced at the DA Election Manifesto Launch at Walter Sisulu Square in Soweto. He defeated contender Vasco da Gama to be elected as the DA mayoral candidate for Johannesburg before a panel of 30 people, including party leader and Premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille.
The DA achieved 34.6% of the vote in the 2011 local government elections in Johannesburg, with 752,304 votes. He led a caucus of 90 members of the 260 seats in Johannesburg City Council. The mayoral seat was won by the ANC and Maimane therefore took up the position of Leader of the Official Opposition. In the Council, Maimane served on the Finance Committee, and on the Governance Committee that he had personally pushed to have constituted. He was selected as DA national spokesperson later in 2011.
At the 2012 DA Federal Congress, Maimane was elected as the party's deputy federal chairperson, ahead of eight other candidates.
Legislative career
2014 Gauteng Premier campaign
On 31 July 2013, Maimane announced his intention to run for the DA nomination as a candidate for Premier of Gauteng in the 2014 elections at Baliskis in Alexandra. Two opponents joined the internal race: DA Gauteng Health spokesperson Jack Bloom and unknown outsider Vaughan Reineke. He emerged as the duly elected DA Gauteng Premier candidate on 9 August 2013. On 12 September, Maimane made the first public address of his candidacy on the lawns of the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
In a March 2014 Ipsos poll, Gauteng respondents were asked to rate Maimane from 1 to 10 (with 1 being "totally against" and 10 being "totally in favour"); the result was an average of 4.9. Among only DA voters, just 8% rated him between 8 and 10. In the other direction, 27% of Gauteng residents rated him between 0 and 2 or "totally against".
Ahead of the 2014 national elections, Mmusi appeared in a political advert titled "Ayisafani" which suggested that the ANC, under the leadership of Jacob Zuma, had fallen from grace. The advert was banned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) after it was aired on April 8 and 9, on the basis that the advert incited violence. The DA laid a complaint with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), and a public hearing was held. The DA and SABC came to an agreement on April 16, after which the broadcaster again aired the advert. While the DA grew its share of the vote in Gauteng in the 2014 election, the ANC retained control of the province with Maimane losing to David Makhura. Following this, Maimane opted against serving in the provincial legislature and was instead sworn in as a member of the National Assembly of South Africa.
National Assembly
The DA's parliamentary caucus met on 29 May 2014 to decide on new parliamentary leadership. Maimane was the only candidate for the post of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and was elected unopposed, becoming the first black man to hold the position in South Africa's history. On 5 June 2014, Maimane announced his Shadow Cabinet.
Leadership of the Democratic Alliance (2015–2019)
Leadership election
On 18 April 2015, at the DA Western Cape Congress, Maimane announced that he would run for federal leader of the DA. He was backed by prominent businessman Herman Mashaba and on 10 May 2015, Maimane was elected leader of the DA at the party's 2015 federal congress in Port Elizabeth. In the process he defeated party chairperson Wilmot James with close to 90% of the vote.
See also
In Spanish: Mmusi Maimane para niños
