Bavelile Gloria Hlongwa (14 April 1981 – 13 September 2019) was a South African chemical engineer and politician from

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

and a party member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC). She was the Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and a Member of the

National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation syste ...

from May 2019 until her death in September 2019.

Early life and career

Bavelile Gloria Hlongwa was born 4 April 1981 in the town of

Umzinto Umzinto is a town, located in the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and falls under the uMdoni Local Municipality. It was a sugarcane growing area and the town was set up as the centre for a sugar mill. Etymology "Umzinto" is said to ...

in the previous

Natal Province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...

. She began her schooling career at Ncazuka Primary School in 1989 and matriculated from Sihle High School in 2000. She studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College campus and achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

. While at university, Hlongwa became active in the

ANC Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

and other student organisations. She was pursuing a master's degree in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

at the time of her death.Bavelile Hlongwa: Deputy Minister of minerals and energy dies in car crash
''The South African'', 14 September 2019. Retrieved on 14 September 2019.PROFILE Ms Bavelile Hlongwa
''www.energy.gov.za''. Retrieved on 14 September 2019. Hlongwa has held various leadership positions. She was appointed to serve on the Local Community Development Committee in 1999. Hlongwa was elected to the South African Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2011, and, in 2013, she was designated as treasurer for the structure. She was appointed executive deputy chairperson of the board of the National Youth Development Agency in 2017. Hlongwa started her career as a chemical engineer at Shell Downstream SA. She worked as an engineer from 2011 to 2013, and soon as a production engineer from 2013 to 2015 at Sapref. She was also a gas scheduler at the company from 2016 to 2017. Hlongwa was appointed as the executive deputy chairperson of the board of the National Youth Development Agency in 2017, while she was deputy president of Convocation Executive Committee at the

University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...

. From 2017 to 2019, she served as a non-executive board member of the Dube Trade Port Corporation. Hlongwa was a non-executive board member of the National Metrology Institute of South Africa from 2018 until 2019.

Political career

Hlongwa was elected central president of the SRC at

in 2009. She was a member of the

and worked as a member of the ANCYL's KwaZulu-Natal branch task team and was a member of various subcommittees from 2013 to 2015. She was a critic of the

ANC Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress, African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League ...

. In May 2019, Hlongwa was elected to the

. She took office as a Member on 22 May 2019. President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

soon after on 29 May 2019 appointed her as Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, serving alongside Minister

Gwede Mantashe Samson Gwede Mantashe, popularly known as Gwede Mantashe, (born 21 June 1955) is a South African politician and trade unionist, who as of 18 December 2017, serves as the National Chairperson of the African National Congress. He is also a former ...

. She was sworn in on 30 May 2019 and consequently became one of the youngest members of the cabinet.

Death

Hlongwa died on 13 September 2019, when a truck ploughed into a previous car accident scene she was assisting with. The accident claimed the lives of Hlongwa and three other people. The accident occurred close to Maubane Bridge on the N1 at Carousel Plaza,

Hammanskraal Hammanskraal is a functional, trans-provincial region anchored in northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The region consists of multiple, residential, industrial and commercial areas in a decentralized settlement pattern. History The historica ...

. President

expressed his sadness about her untimely death and declared that a state funeral would be held for her. A memorial service for Hlongwa was held on 19 September 2019. The University of KwaZulu-Natal cancelled its memorial service it was scheduled to hold for her. Hlongwa's funeral was held on 21 September 2019.Mitchley, Alex
Hlongwa died as she lived; helping people - Ramaphosa
''News24'', 21 September 2019. Retrieved on 21 September 2019.

References

External links

Bavelile Gloria Hlongwa – People's AssemblyBavelile Hlongwa, Ms – South African Gpvernment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hlongwa, Bavelile 1981 births 2019 deaths Road incident deaths in South Africa African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Women government ministers of South Africa Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa People from uMdoni Local Municipality People from KwaZulu-Natal South African chemical engineers 21st-century South African engineers South African women engineers Women chemical engineers 21st-century women engineers 21st-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African politicians