Cobus de Swardt is a South African sociologist. He was head of

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

from 2007 to 2017, and is a former chair of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

(WEF) Global Agenda Council on Corruption.

Education

De Swardt earned an MPhil in Political and African Studies from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

, and a PhD in Sociology from

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

, Melbourne.

Career

In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was active in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, chairing the African National Congress in Cape Town. He has taught at universities in Australia, Germany, Japan and South Africa. He worked in various countries for multinational corporations, trade unions and research institutes in managerial and research capacities. He also served as a Director of

United Nations Global Compact The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to encourage businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is a princ ...

. De Swardt led the Chronic Poverty Research Centre, an international research and development policy network, in South Africa, and represented it internationally. He served as Global Programmes Director for

from 2004 and became Acting Managing Director on 30 April 2007. He was head of Transparency International from 2007 to 2017, when he was succeeded by Patricia Moreira. The departure of de Swardt from Transparency International was contentious and led to a settlement agreement between Transparency International and de Swardt in a Labour Court in Berlin. In 2021, de Swardt would publish a book, “Silencing a Whistleblower”, accusing Transparency International of abuse of power.Silencing a Whistleblower, A Story of Hypocrisy, Cobus de Swardt, 2021
/ref> He was a member and former chair of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Agenda Council on Corruption. In addition, he served on the Board of the WEF Partnering against Corruption Initiative (PACI) and the Berlin Civil Society Centre. He wrote several articles for the WEF on corruption, including topics such as why businesses should be more open and how to end poverty.

References

External links

YouTube, April 2016: Together Against Hidden Corruption Cobus De Swardt TEDxMünchenYouTube, March 2017: Cobus de Swart, Managing director of Transparency InternationalYouTube, January 2018: Cobus de Swart, Managing director of Transparency International
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Swardt, Cobus Living people South African sociologists University of Cape Town alumni La Trobe University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) South African anti-corruption activists