Nosimo Zisiwe Beauty Balindlela (born 28 November 1949 in

Hermanus Hermanus (originally called ''Hermanuspietersfontein'', but shortened in 1902 as the name was too long for the postal service

, Cape Province) is a South African politician who served as the

Premier of the Eastern Cape The Premier of the Eastern Cape is the head of government of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Eastern Cape is Oscar Mabuyane, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected in the 2019 election. ...

from 26 April 2004 until 1 August 2008. She changed parties in 2008 when she became a member of the Congress of the People, and again in 2012 to join the Democratic Alliance. In 2018 she defected back to the ANC.

Firing

In July 2008, Balindlela resigned from her position as premier after pressure from the National Executive Committee of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

, of which she was a member. Balindlela also subsequently resigned from "active" politics - however she still remained an active ANC PEC member. Both her "sacking" and that of the neighboring

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

's ANC premier

Ebrahim Rasool Ebrahim Rasool (born 15 July 1962) is a South African politician and diplomat who served as the South African Ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015, as a Member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2010, and as the 5th Premier of th ...

were announced on the same day. Her successor, Mbulelo Sogoni, was sworn in on 1 August 2008. She resigned from the ANC on 4 November 2008 to join the Congress of the People. In November 2012 she joined the Democratic Alliance, her second change of political party. She became a member of parliament for the DA in May 2014, and served as Shadow Minister of Water and Sanitation until November 2016, when she transferred to the Eastern Cape Legislature.

References

1949 births Living people People from Overstrand Local Municipality Xhosa people African National Congress politicians Congress of the People (South African political party) politicians Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Premiers of the Eastern Cape Teachers College, Columbia University alumni 21st-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African politicians Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa Women premiers of South African provinces {{EasternCape-politician-stub