Possible successors
Jun 16, 2005
A former trade unionist, student activist and once jailed on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe is the secretary-general of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
Kgalema Motlanthe, ANC Secretary-General
A former trade unionist, student activist and once jailed on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe is the secretary-general of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
With roots in the powerful labour movement, Motlanthe was secretary-general of the powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), bedrock of the trade union federation COSATU. He took up his post following the ANC’s internal party elections in 1999.
“By virtue of his seniority and stature in the ANC, don’t be surprised if he suddenly emerges as the ‘natural choice’ above other contenders,†the weekly Financial Mail reported on June 10.
A 56-year-old former soldier in the ANC’s disbanded military wing UmKhonto we Sizwe, Motlanthe has won widespread support within the ANC for reorganising the party’s branches.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, minerals and energy minister
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, 49, is best known for engineering a mining charter to give blacks a bigger share of an industry that historically exploited them.
One of the first of the so-called Black Economic Empowerment charters to be concluded since the end of apartheid in 1994, she ensured it soothed investor nerves while sticking to her guns.
Well respected in government and industry circles, she would become the country’s first female deputy president.
Mosiuoa “Terror†Lekota, Minister of Defence
Lekota, 56, is hugely popular with the ANC’s rank and file. Although from the small Sotho group, his support base overlaps Zuma’s — a populist Zulu — in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa’s most populous province.
He has won respect heading up an armed force that once went into neighbouring African states to wage war but now has peacekeepers in hot spots such as Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Joel Netshitenzhe, Chief Government Spokesman
Joel Khathutshelo Netshitenzhe is considered by analysts as one of the most powerful men in South Africa after Mbeki. One of Mbeki’s closest aides, Netshitenzhe has unfettered access to the president and his views usually mirror those of Mbeki.
Netshitenzhe, 48, is the government’s chief spokesman and head of the policy unit in the presidency. His influence is such that he sits in cabinet meetings and often relays to the public the government’s strategies for development.
Newspapers this week quoted his suppoters saying they believed it might be too soon for him to stake his claim on the leadership because party members might not want Mbeki replaced by a man viewed as his ‘clone’.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife and the most powerful woman in the ANC, was made foreign minister in 1999 for her unstinting loyalty to Mbeki. The president has long leaned on his trusted foreign minister, who has taken the heat for him on controversial issues including the crisis in Zimbabwe — often using undiplomatic and blunt language when dealing with critics.
Ends
A former trade unionist, student activist and once jailed on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe is the secretary-general of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
With roots in the powerful labour movement, Motlanthe was secretary-general of the powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), bedrock of the trade union federation COSATU. He took up his post following the ANC’s internal party elections in 1999.
“By virtue of his seniority and stature in the ANC, don’t be surprised if he suddenly emerges as the ‘natural choice’ above other contenders,†the weekly Financial Mail reported on June 10.
A 56-year-old former soldier in the ANC’s disbanded military wing UmKhonto we Sizwe, Motlanthe has won widespread support within the ANC for reorganising the party’s branches.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, minerals and energy minister
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, 49, is best known for engineering a mining charter to give blacks a bigger share of an industry that historically exploited them.
One of the first of the so-called Black Economic Empowerment charters to be concluded since the end of apartheid in 1994, she ensured it soothed investor nerves while sticking to her guns.
Well respected in government and industry circles, she would become the country’s first female deputy president.
Mosiuoa “Terror†Lekota, Minister of Defence
Lekota, 56, is hugely popular with the ANC’s rank and file. Although from the small Sotho group, his support base overlaps Zuma’s — a populist Zulu — in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa’s most populous province.
He has won respect heading up an armed force that once went into neighbouring African states to wage war but now has peacekeepers in hot spots such as Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Joel Netshitenzhe, Chief Government Spokesman
Joel Khathutshelo Netshitenzhe is considered by analysts as one of the most powerful men in South Africa after Mbeki. One of Mbeki’s closest aides, Netshitenzhe has unfettered access to the president and his views usually mirror those of Mbeki.
Netshitenzhe, 48, is the government’s chief spokesman and head of the policy unit in the presidency. His influence is such that he sits in cabinet meetings and often relays to the public the government’s strategies for development.
Newspapers this week quoted his suppoters saying they believed it might be too soon for him to stake his claim on the leadership because party members might not want Mbeki replaced by a man viewed as his ‘clone’.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife and the most powerful woman in the ANC, was made foreign minister in 1999 for her unstinting loyalty to Mbeki. The president has long leaned on his trusted foreign minister, who has taken the heat for him on controversial issues including the crisis in Zimbabwe — often using undiplomatic and blunt language when dealing with critics.
Ends