Gill Marcus (born 10 August 1949) is a former Governor of the

South African Reserve Bank The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condit ...

, being the ninth person and the first and only woman to hold the position.

Life and career

Early years

Marcus was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa. Her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

; both of her parents were born in South Africa.

Exile

Both her parents were anti-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

activists and members of the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

(SACP). They went into exile in 1969, together with Gill, her two sisters and brother. She completed her degree by correspondence with the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

, with a

BComm A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

Industrial Psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology), an applied discipline within psychology, is the science of human behavior in the workplace. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational ...

in 1976. She joined the SACP and 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) in 1970 and began working for the exiled ANC's Department of Information and Publicity (DIP) in London, later becoming the DIP's deputy secretary.

Return

Marcus returned to South Africa in 1990 after the ANC was unbanned. She established the ANC's Information Department in 1990.

Politician and central banker

She was elected a Member of Parliament in 1994 and became Deputy Minister of Finance in the

Government of National Unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

from 1996 to 1999, serving under

Trevor Manuel Trevor Andrew Manuel (born 31 January 1956) is a South African politician who served in the government of South Africa as Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2009, during the presidencies of Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, and ...

. In 1999 she became Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank under

Tito Mboweni Tito Titus Mboweni (born 16 March 1959) is a South African politician who served as Minister of Finance of South Africa in the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa from 2018 to 2021. Mboweni was the eighth Governor of the South African Reser ...

. She held the post for five years but left due to a personality clash with Mboweni. She then held the Professorship of Leadership and Gender Studies at the

Gordon Institute of Business Science Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS Business School) is a business school in South Africa and an affiliate of the University of Pretoria. It is located in the heart of Illovo, Johannesburg, close to the Sandton financial and commercial bu ...

, before going into business, initially as chairman of

Western Areas Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

mining company and later as non-executive director of

Gold Fields Gold Fields Limited (formerly The Gold Fields of South Africa) is one of the world's largest gold mining firms. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company is listed on both the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the New York Sto ...

. In 2007 she succeeded Danie Cronjé as chair of

Absa Group Absa Group Limited (ABGL; formerly Barclays Africa Group Limited), and originally Amalgamated Banks of South Africa, is a South African-based financial services group, offering personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and inves ...

and Absa Bank. In July 2009, 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 ...

announced that she would return to the Reserve Bank to succeed Mboweni as Governor. The appointment was welcomed by both economists and trade unionists. She stepped down at the end of her five-year term in November 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus, Gill 1949 births Living people African National Congress politicians Gordon Institute of Business Science academics Government ministers of South Africa Governors of the South African Reserve Bank Jewish socialists Jewish South African anti-apartheid activists Jewish South African politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Members of the African National Congress Members of the South African Communist Party South African Communist Party politicians 20th-century South African economists South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent South African women activists South African women economists White South African anti-apartheid activists 21st-century South African economists