Tsiame Kenneth Mopeli (20 September 1930 – 1 October 2014)http://www.express-news.co.za/articles/articledetails.aspx?id=193545 was the former

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

bantustan A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now ...

QwaQwa QwaQwa was a bantustan ("homeland") in the central eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho. Its capital was Phuthaditjhaba. It ...

. Born in Namahadi, Mopeli earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(Hons) at 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 ...

in 1954 and worked as a teacher and radio announcer for the

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before being nominated for membership of the QwaQwa Territorial Authority. Mopeli founded and led the Dikwankwetla Party to victory at the 19 May 1975 QwaQwa elections and subsequently become Chief Minister of QwaQwa. He spent much of his time as Chief Minister confronting the South African government over various issues, most significantly over demands for more territory to be annexed to QwaQwa, and could boast of South Africa acquiescing to his demands, with some adjoining land (albeit small) added to the bantustan. During his period of Chief Minister, Mopeli oversaw the foundation of the University of Qwa Qwa which in 2003 was incorporated as a campus of the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary se ...

, the soccer stadium Charles Mopeli Stadium and the Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Hospital was built and opened during his time in office. Described as "rotund, avuncular and unbending" by one observer, Mopeli ruled QwaQwa until 26 April 1994 when the bantustan was reintegrated into South Africa. Dr. Mopeli died at the age of 84 on 1 October 2014, at Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Hospital after a long struggle with cancer.

References

* Murray, C. ''Family Histories and 'Household' Livelihoods: Qwaqwa, 1970s to 1990s'

1930 births 2014 deaths People from Mafube Local Municipality South African Sotho people Dikwankwetla Party of South Africa politicians Chief ministers of South African bantustans University of South Africa alumni {{FreeState-politician-stub