Hlengiwe Buhle Mkhize (6 September 1952 – 16 September 2021) was a South African politician, who served as

Minister of Higher Education and Training The Minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology is a Minister in the Cabinet of South Africa, with the responsibility of overseeing the higher education and training components of the Department of Education. Before 10 May 2009 the portfol ...

under 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 ...

Early life and education

Mkhize was born on 6 September 1952. She earned Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Social Work and Sociology from the

University of Zululand The University of Zululand or UniZulu is the only comprehensive tertiary educational institution north of the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its new status is in accordance with South Africa's National Plan for Higher Education ...

; Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology, and a Master of Clinical Psychology from 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. ...

Career

Mkhize was a founding member, and trustee, of the Children and Violence Trust since 1995, had been a trustee of the Malibongwe Business Trust from 2005. She was a senior lecturer and researcher at

Wits University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

from 1990 until 1995. Mkhize was a board member of the South African Prisoner's Organisation for Human Rights from 1994 to 1995;

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 ...

(TRC) Commissioner and Chairperson of the Reparations and Rehabilitation committee from 1995 to 2003. She was first elected to 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 ...

in 2009 as part 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 ...

. She served as ambassador to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, had a short stint as Deputy Minister for Correctional Services] and thereafter, from 2014 to 2017, served as the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services. Mkhize was appointed Minister of Higher Education and Training by former President

on 17 October 2017, after previously serving as Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services in the

government of South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

. In February 2018, she was sacked from cabinet by 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 ...

Death

Mkhize died on 16 September 2021, aged 69.

References

External links

* 1952 births 2021 deaths Zulu people African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Ministers of Home Affairs of South Africa University of Zululand alumni University of KwaZulu-Natal alumni Female interior ministers Women government ministers of South Africa 21st-century South African politicians {{SouthAfrica-diplomat-stub