Gareth Morgan (born 22 March 1977) is a South African politician and a former member of parliament with the opposition Democratic Alliance. He is a former

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and previously worked as South Africa's Shadow Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. He was South Africa's first

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

Member of Parliament. He resigned from office in January 2013 to pursue a career in consulting., before joining the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remo ...

as Principal Trade and Investment Officer in June 2015.

Education

Morgan matriculated from

Westville Boys' High School Westville Boys' High School, often referred to as WBHS or "boys high", is a semi-private high school for boys located in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Early history The year 2022 marks the 67th anniversary of WBHS as a high school. ...

in 1994 and completed a B.Com and political science honours degree at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

. He joined the Democratic Alliance's predecessor, the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, in 1995—as a student activist. In 1999 he became the party's media officer in

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 ...

. After a brief stint as a high school teacher, Morgan read for a PPE degree and an M.Sc in Environmental Change and Management at Oxford—on a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

Member of Parliament

Upon his return to South Africa, Morgan was elected to the National Assembly on the DA's KwaZulu-Natal list. He was initially appointed Parliamentary Counsellor to the Leader of the Opposition—a position he occupied for 14 months. He subsequently was appointed spokesperson on Environmental Affairs. In July 2006 he became health spokesperson, before returning to the Environmental Affairs portfolio. Ahead of the 2009 General Elections he appeared second on the party's

list and was re-elected. He served as Shadow Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs from 2009 to January 2013 and was a whip of the National Assembly from June 2011 until his resignation.

Constituency

Morgan served as Democratic Alliance MP for the Abaqulusi constituency in northern KwaZulu-Natal between 2004 and 2006. Between 2006 and 2008 he served the South Durban constituency, and from 2009 to January 2013 he served as constituency MP for Durban West.

Memberships

Morgan was a member o
Globe International's
G8+5 Climate Dialogue from 2006 to 2013. He is also a fellow of the Emerging Leaders' Programme run by the Southern Africa Centre for Leadership and Public Values.

References

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Gareth 1977 births Living people Politicians from Cape Town White South African people South African people of Welsh descent Democratic Party (South Africa) politicians Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa University of Natal alumni Alumni of Westville Boys' High School