Pholile Dlamini Shakantu is an

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

politician. She has been the Minister of Justice from 2018 and the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2023.

Life

Shakantu studied law at the

University of Eswatini The University of Eswatini (or UNESWA; formerly known as the University of Swaziland, or UNISWA) is the national university of Eswatini. It was established by act of parliament in 1982. The university developed from the University of Botswana, ...

and she has a law degree. She also has a master's degree from Leeds Beckett University in Leadership and Change Management. She was appointed to be the Minister of Justice by

King Mswati III Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is the king (Swazi: Ngwenyama, Ingwenyama yemaSwati) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger w ...

in 2018. She was reelected as a senator in November 2023 after the appointment of Mmemo Rusell Dlamini as the 12th Prime Minister to advise the king about new ministers. There are meant to be about thirty senators in Eswatini and she was one of the twenty appointed by the King. Later in 2023 she became the Minister of Foreign Affairs and an early task was to visit Taiwan. Eswatini is unusual for an African country as it is the only one that recognises the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(Taiwan) and she was received by the President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President

Lai Ching-te William Lai Ching-te (; born 6 October 1959) is a Taiwanese politician who has been the Vice President of the Republic of China, Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2020. He served as a legislator in the Legislative Yuan from 19 ...

as an ally. The President thanked Shakuntu for her country's support including speaking up at the United Nations. Shakuntu and Taiwan's Foreign Minister

Jaushieh Joseph Wu Joseph Wu Jaushieh (; born October 31, 1954) is a Taiwanese politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China under current President Tsai Ing-wen since February 26, 2018. He was formerly the Secretary-Gene ...

signed an agreement reaffirming the two countries close relationship. Over 25 years Taiwan's assistance to Eswatini is estimated to be worth more that two billion dollars. The Taiwan government started its own digital platform TaiwanPlus in 2021 Government launches new English video platform Taiwan Plus, 2021
/ref> Shakuntu was shown TaiwanPlus by Deputy Digital Minister Yeh Ning they and discussed how it could help co-operation and counter disinformation. Shakuntu is the founder and patron of the Eswatini Network of Women.

Criticism

Criticism published in South Africa alleges that the King, Shakuntu and her husband are involved with corruption.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakantu, Pholile Living people Swazi politicians Swazi lawyers Swazi women Government ministers Year of birth missing (living people)