Nthabiseng Pauline Khunou (born 21 December 1969) is a South African politician from the Free State. She represented 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 the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

from 2003 to 2019 and formerly served in the

Free State Provincial Legislature The Free State Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Free State. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the executive council from among the members of the leading party ...

Political career

Born on 21 December 1969, Khunou was a student activist and later served as a local councillor in the

Motheo District Municipality Motheo (''Sesotho'', meaning "foundation" or "cornerstone") was, until the municipal elections of 18 May 2011, a district of the Free State province of South Africa. At the time of the 2011 elections it was disestablished as a consequence of Man ...

. In the 1999 general election, she was elected to an ANC seat in the Free State Provincial Legislature. However, she served less than a term in her seat; in 2003, she was transferred to the National Assembly to fill a casual vacancy. She was elected to her first full term in the assembly in the general election of the following year, serving the Free State constituency, and subsequently gained re-election to further terms in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. At the outset of her last term in Parliament in 2014, the ANC appointed her as its

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

in the Multi-Party Women's Caucus, then chaired by Storey Morutoa. In addition, in 2018, she was elected to chair the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General after the incumbent, Vincent Smith, stepped aside to confront corruption allegations. Khunou was also active in the Free State branch of the

ANC Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress, African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League ...

and, as a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

pastor, in the

National Interfaith Leadership Council The National Interfaith Council of South Africa (NICSA) is a co-operative interfaith dialog, interfaith religious body in South Africa formed by the merger of the National Religious Leaders Forum (NRLF) and the National Interfaith Leadership Council ...

References

External links

* Living people 1969 births African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women politicians 20th-century South African politicians 20th-century South African women politicians Members of the Free State Provincial Legislature Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa {{DEFAULTSORT:Khunou, Nthabiseng