Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Mlambo-Ngcuka in 2014
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Executive Director of UN Women
In office 13 August 2013 – 19 August 2021
Secretary General	Ban Ki-moon António Guterres
Preceded by	Michelle Bachelet
Succeeded by	Sima Sami Bahous
4th Deputy President of South Africa
In office 22 June 2005 – 23 September 2008
President	Thabo Mbeki
Preceded by	Jacob Zuma
Succeeded by	Baleka Mbete
Minister of Minerals and Energy
In office 17 June 1999 – 21 June 2005
President	Nelson Mandela Thabo Mbeki
Preceded by	Penuell Maduna
Succeeded by	Lindiwe Hendricks
Acting Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
In office 3 February 2004 – 30 April 2004
President	Thabo Mbeki
Succeeded by	Ben Ngubane
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
In office 27 April 1994 – September 2008
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Andries Nel
Constituency	KwaZulu-Natal
Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the African National Congress in Western Cape
In office April 1994 – 1996
Chairperson	Chris Nissen
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Nomaindia Mfeketo
Additional offices 2007–present Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg Incumbent Assumed office September 2022 Vice-Chancellor Tshilidzi Marwala Preceded by Njabulo Ndebele Chancellor of the Tshwane University of Technology In office 7 November 2007 – 10 June 2015 Succeeded by Gwen Ramokgopa
Personal details
Born	Phumzile Mhlambo (1955-11-03) 3 November 1955 (age 69) Clermont, KwaZulu-Natal, Union of South Africa
Political party	African National Congress (1994–2009, 2009–present)
Other political affiliations	Congress of the People (until 2009)
Spouse	Bulelani Ngcuka
Children	5
Alma mater	National University of Lesotho (BA) University of Cape Town (MPhil) Warwick University (DEng)
Occupation	Politician diplomat educator consultant businesswoman human rights activist

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (born 3 November 1955) is a well-known South African politician and former official at the United Nations. She served as the Executive Director of UN Women, which is a very important role.

She was the Deputy President of South Africa from 2004 to 2008. She was the first woman to hold this high position. This made her the highest-ranking woman in South African history at that time. As Deputy President, she worked on projects to help people escape poverty. She also made sure that poor communities could benefit from the country's growing economy.

Early Life and Education

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka earned a bachelor's degree in social science and education in 1980. She studied at the National University of Lesotho. Later, in 2003, she received a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Cape Town. Her master's studies focused on how to plan and create education policies.

In 2013, she completed her doctorate degree from the University of Warwick. Her research looked at how mobile phones could help teachers in countries with fewer resources. She also received an honorary doctorate from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in 2014. This special award recognized her achievements.

Working for Youth Development

From 1981 to 1983, Mlambo-Ngcuka worked as a teacher in KwaZulu-Natal. After that, she moved to Geneva in Switzerland. There, she joined the World Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) from 1984 to 1989. As the Youth Director, she worked to create job opportunities for young people. She also promoted education about development in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Mlambo-Ngcuka was the first president of the Natal Organisation of Women. She also started and led the Young Women's International Programme. From 1987 to 1989, she directed TEAM. This was a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Cape Town that helped with development. She worked with women in informal settlements and African churches. Her goal was to help them become more financially independent. She also ran training programs to teach new skills.

From 1990 to 1992, she was the director of World University Service. This agency helped fund development organisations. She managed money given by Swedish and Swiss government agencies. In 1993 and 1994, she started her own consulting company, Phumelela Services. Throughout her career, Mlambo-Ngcuka focused on human rights, gender equality, and helping young people. She also worked for social justice.

Career in National Politics

Member of Parliament

In 1994, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka became a Member of Parliament (MP). An MP is someone elected to represent people in the country's government. She led the Public Service Portfolio Committee. From 1996 to 1999, she was a deputy minister in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). During this time, she also helped create the Guguletu Community Development Corporation.

From 1997, she was a member of the national executive committee of the African National Congress (ANC). She also served as the provincial vice-chairperson of the ANC in the Western Cape.

Minister of Minerals and Energy

From June 1999 to June 2005, Mlambo-Ngcuka was the Minister of Minerals and Energy. In this role, she played a key part in a new government policy. This policy created "New Order Mining Rights." Before this, large mining companies controlled almost all of South Africa's mineral resources forever.

Mlambo-Ngcuka's policy was called 'use it or lose it'. This meant that if companies did not use their mining rights, they could lose them. This policy made mining rights available to more people. It especially helped black South Africans who had been unfairly treated in the past. She also served as acting Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology for a few months in 2004.

She led a group from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to observe the 2005 election in Zimbabwe. The group said the election was peaceful and fair.

Deputy President of South Africa

Then South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka giving a speech at Tsinghua University's School of Public Policy and Management on Sino-South African relations in 2007.

On 22 June 2005, President Thabo Mbeki chose her to be the Deputy President of South Africa. This happened after he removed Jacob Zuma from the position. Mlambo-Ngcuka's husband, Bulelani Ngcuka, was in charge of fighting organised crime at the time.

In August 2005, she spoke about land reform in South Africa. She said that South Africa could learn from Zimbabwe about how to share land. This comment caused some discussion.

In December 2007, she lost her place on the ANC's National Executive Committee. This happened after party members elected a group that supported Jacob Zuma. President Mbeki resigned in September 2008. This was because the ANC decided to recall him. After this, many cabinet members, including Mlambo-Ngcuka, also resigned on 23 September.

Mlambo-Ngcuka briefly joined another political party, COPE, in early 2009. However, she soon rejoined the ANC.

Executive Director of UN Women

On 10 July 2013, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was chosen to be the Executive Director of UN Women. This is a special part of the United Nations that works for gender equality and to empower women. She officially started this role on 19 August 2013. She took over from Michelle Bachelet.

Under her leadership, UN Women worked with advertising agencies to start the HeForShe campaign. This campaign encourages men and boys to support gender equality. In November 2017, she supported the Elsie Initiative. This project aims to increase the number of women taking part in peacekeeping missions.

Besides her work at UN Women, Mlambo-Ngcuka was also part of the World Bank Group's Advisory Council on Gender and Development from 2015 to 2017. In November 2018, the UN Secretary General appointed her to a special task force. This group looked at how digital money could help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

She received the Cannes LionHeart Award in 2019. This award recognized her important work for UN Women and the Unstereotype Alliance. Mlambo-Ngcuka left UN Women in August 2021 after serving two terms.

She successfully helped raise 40 billion US dollars. This money came from countries, private companies, charities, and young people. These funds are part of the Generational Equality plan. This plan aims to bring big changes for women and girls around the world.

Publications

• Progress towards gender parity still slow, uneven- Interview: Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
• The United Nation at 70 and the ongoing quest for gender equality
• Becoming UN Women: A journey in realizing rights and gaining global recognition
• Mobile learning facilitated ICT teacher development : innovation report
• Rural women: the invisible mainstay of sustainability
• UN Women bids farewell to Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Other Activities

• Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Ex-Officio Member of the Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations (since 2013)
• Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, Member of the Board (since 2016)
• Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women's Empowerment, Member of the International Jury (since 2016)
• African Leadership Academy (ALA), Member of the Global Advisory Council
• International Gender Champions (IGC), Member
• Mandela Rhodes Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees

In late 2022, Mlambo-Ngcuka helped mediate peace talks. These talks were between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The goal was to end the Tigray War. On 2 November 2022, a peace treaty was signed in Pretoria. This agreement officially ended the war on 3 November.

Personal Life

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is married to Bulelani Ngcuka. He used to be the head of the National Prosecuting Authority. They have five children together, four of whom were adopted.

Images for kids

• Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Pron.ogg

  Audio pronunciation of Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

See also

In Spanish: Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka para niños