Baleka Mbete (born 24 September 1949) is a South African politician who served as the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

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 2014 to May 2019. She was previously Speaker of the National Assembly from 2004 to 2008, and Deputy President of South Africa from 2008 to 2009 under

Kgalema Motlanthe Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (; born 19 July 1949) is a South African politician who was South Africa's third president between 25 September 2008 and 9 May 2009, following Thabo Mbeki's resignation. Thereafter, he was deputy president under Jacob Z ...

. She was elected National Chairperson of the

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

in 2007 and re-elected in 2012 and served until 18 December 2017."Biography: Baleka Mbete"
, African National Congress. On the 18th of December 2017, during the ANC's 54th conference,

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 ...

was elected Mbete's successor as National Chairperson of the ANC. Mbete is the ex-wife of poet and activist

Keorapetse Kgositsile Keorapetse William Kgositsile (19 September 1938 – 3 January 2018), also known by his pen name Bra Willie, was a South African Tswana poet, journalist and political activist. An influential member of the African National Congress in the 1960 ...

."Baleka Mbete"
, Incwajana.

Early life

After going into exile in 1976, Mbete taught in

Mbabane Mbabane (; ss, ÉMbábáne, ) is a city in Eswatini (previously called Swaziland), and is one of the two capitals (along with Lobamba), serving as the executive capital. With an estimated population of 94,874 (2010), it is located on the Mba ...

in Swaziland, and went on to work for the

(ANC) in several other African cities, including Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Nairobi in Kenya, Gaborone in Botswana,

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

in Zimbabwe, and

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was about 3.3 millio ...

in Zambia. She returned to South Africa from exile in June 1990.

In the ANC government

Soon after her return, Mbete was elected the secretary-general of

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

, serving in this position from 1991 to 1993. She was elected as an MP for the ANC in 1994, and was appointed chair of the ANC parliamentary caucus in 1995, and was the Deputy Speaker of the

from 1996 to 2004. Mbete was also a member of the Presidential Panel on the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

, the ANC National Executive Committee, and the

Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...

. From April 2004, Mbete became the Speaker of the National Assembly. On 18 December 2007, at the 52nd National Elective Conference of the ANC held in

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

, Mbete was elected as the ANC's national chairperson.

Deputy President

On 20 September 2008, the

formally asked President

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC) ...

to resign as President of South Africa. Mbete, as Speaker of Parliament, accepted Mbeki's resignation on 21 September. It had been speculated that Mbete would succeed Mbeki as President, which would have made her the first female head of state in South Africa's history; however, the ANC announced that

, Deputy President of the ANC, would assume that position. On 23 September, Mbete was announced by the SABC as the most likely candidate for Deputy President of South Africa following

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (; born 3 November 1955), South African Government Information. is a South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General o ...

's resignation from the position. On 25 September 2008, she was appointed by Motlanthe as Deputy President. On 10 May 2009, she was replaced as Deputy President by incoming President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

, who elected to appoint Motlanthe as his deputy. Vladimir Putin in South Africa 5-6 September 2006-13

Speaker of the National Assembly

Nomination

On 20 May 2014, Mbete was nominated for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly for a second time. She was elected unanimously on 21 May, beating her rival DA candidate and former Eastern Cape Premier

Nosimo Balindlela Nosimo Zisiwe Beauty Balindlela (born 28 November 1949 in Hermanus, Cape Province) is a South African politician who served as the Premier of the Eastern Cape from 26 April 2004 until 1 August 2008. She changed parties in 2008 when she became a ...

. On 10 September 2014, five opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters, stated that they planned to submit a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in Mbete, and claimed that she could not simultaneously serve as chairwoman of the ANC and as Speaker of the National Assembly. A debate held in Parliament on 16 September resulted in the motion being rejected by 234 votes to none. This was a result of opposition parties collectively walking out of the house after the ANC tried to change the vote into one of confidence in Mbete instead.

Alleged bias

Mbete has faced accusations, over the course of several years, that she is biased in favour of the

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

and a puppet of Ex-president Jacob Zuma. In March 2016, the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

held, in '' Economic Freedom Fighters v Speaker of the National Assembly'', that the National Assembly under Mbete's stewardship had breached the

South African Constitution The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gove ...

by undermining rather than implementing the

Public Protector The Public Protector in South Africa is one of six independent state institutions set up by the country's Constitution to support and defend democracy. According to Section 181 of the Constitution: * These institutions are independent, and subje ...

's Nkandla report.

Remuneration

As speaker of the national assembly Mbete was paid R2‚716‚798 (equivalent to US$170,000) a year as of April 2015 making her the highest paid member of the South African Parliament at the time.

Other

As speaker Mbete has highlighted poor attendance of ministers at parliamentary meetings, and implemented an attendance roster.

Succession

On 20 May 2019, the African National Congress announced that it had nominated NCOP Chairperson

Thandi Modise Thandi Modise (born 25 December 1959) is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. She was previously the Premier of the North West from 2010 to 2014, Chairperson of the National Coun ...

to succeed Mbete as Speaker. The following day, Mbete withdrew her name from the ANC's incoming parliamentarians list.

Other controversies

In April 1997, Mbete was found to have received an improperly issued driver's license. She was not charged with any wrongdoing. This was after investigators uncovered widespread corruption in

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

's driving license testing centre. Mbete said that she had been "too busy" to stand in queues. In 2006, Mbete chartered a jet at a cost of R471,900 (around $60,000) to fly to Liberia for the inauguration of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president. The only other passenger on the plane was a member of her staff. Then president Thabo Mbeki and foreign minister

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma (née Dlamini; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Cong ...

also travelled to the inauguration – Mbeki in his private plane and Dlamini-Zuma by commercial flight. Mbete has been a staunch supporter of

Tony Yengeni Tony Sithembiso Yengeni (born 11 October 1954) is a South African politician. He was an anti-Apartheid activist and joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1976 and later its armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. From 1994 until 2003 he served as ...

, a former ANC Chief Whip in parliament, who was convicted of defrauding parliament in 2004, even accompanying Yengeni to

Pollsmoor Prison Pollsmoor Prison, officially known as Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, is located in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Pollsmoor is a maximum security penal facility that continues to hold some of South Africa's most dangerous cr ...

when he reported to serve his sentence. Mbete's links to business have also been questioned. She and provincial secretary of the ANC in the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

Dr K M Seimelo are shareholders in Dyambu Holdings, which is involved in building the massive

Gautrain Gautrain is an higher-speed express commuter rail system in Gauteng, South Africa, which links Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kempton Park and O.R. Tambo International Airport. It takes 15 minutes to travel from Sandton to O.R. Tambo International ...

public transport project in the province Gauteng. Dyambu Holdings is reported to have had links with slain magnate

Brett Kebble Roger Brett Kebble (19 February 1964 – 27 September 2005) was a South African mining magnate with close links to factions in the ruling political party, the African National Congress. Known to be personally eccentric, he became a major player ...

. In 2010, she was implicated in a R25 million Gold Fields bribe under the guise of a "BEE" transaction by US investigators.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mbete, Baleka 1949 births Living people 20th-century South African women politicians 20th-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African politicians African National Congress politicians Deputy presidents of South Africa Members of the Pan-African Parliament from South Africa Speakers of the National Assembly of South Africa Women members of the Pan-African Parliament Women vice presidents Women legislative speakers Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Kgositsile family