Ravigasen Ranganathan "Ravi" Pillay (born 18 November 1958) is a South African attorney and

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 ...

(ANC) politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government from November 2020 until August 2022. He was the MEC for Finance from May 2019 to November 2020 and the MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works from 2011 to 2019. Pillay was elected to the

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members i ...

in 2009 and served as the legislature's chief whip of the majority party from 2009 to 2011.

Early life and education

Pillay was born on 18 November 1958 in Port Shepstone in the Natal Province. He studied at the

University of Durban-Westville The University of Durban-Westville (UDW) was a university situated in Westville, a town situated near Durban, South Africa, which opened in 1972. It is now one of the campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was initially established for ...

and obtained both a BA degree and an LLB degree. He was a student activist at the university and joined the ANC in 1981.

Political career

After apartheid, Pillay became the inaugural speaker of the

Hibiscus Coast Local Municipality Hibiscus Coast Local Municipality was a local municipality in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It governed the Hibiscus Coast on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast which attracts tourists from the province and other provinces as well as ...

and was later promoted to be speaker of the

Ugu District Municipality Ugu is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. ''Ugu'' is Zulu for "coast". It governs the KZN South Coast and its seat is Port Shepstone. The majority of its 722,484 people speak IsiZulu (2011 Census). The district ...

. Pillay was elected as an MPL in May 2009. He was then appointed the chief whip of the ANC caucus in the legislature. Later, in November 2011, he was appointed as the MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works. He served in the post under three premiers from 2011 to 2019:

Zweli Mkhize Zwelini Lawrence Mkhize (born 2 February 1956) is a South African medical doctor and politician who served as the Minister of Health from May 2019 until his resignation on 5 August 2021. He previously served as the Minister of Cooperative Governa ...

Senzo Mchunu Edward Senzo Mchunu (born 21 April 1958) is a South African politician currently serving as Minister of Water and Sanitation. He served as Minister of Public Service and Administration from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as Premier of KwaZul ...

and

Willies Mchunu Willies Mchunu (born 11 May 1948) was the 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was previously a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison in the province. He is a memb ...

. Pillay was appointed acting premier in March 2018, becoming the first Indian South African to hold the post. He had since been acting premier on multiple occasions. In May 2019, Pillay became the MEC for Finance in the cabinet of Sihle Zikalala. He took over from Belinda Scott, who left the provincial government. Pillay was appointed as the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs in November 2020, replacing

Nomusa Dube-Ncube Nomusa Dube-Ncube is a South African politician and former diplomat who has been the 9th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal since August 2022. A member of the African National Congress, she is the first woman to hold the office. Previously, she served as ...

. On 9 August 2022, Pillay resigned from the provincial government and the provincial legislature.

References

External links

Hon. RR Pillay – KwaZulu-Natal LegislatureRavigasen Ranganathan Pillay – People's Assembly
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pillay, Ravi Living people 1958 births Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature People from KwaZulu-Natal South African politicians of Indian descent African National Congress politicians University of Durban-Westville alumni People from Port Shepstone People from Ugu District Municipality People from Hibiscus Coast Local Municipality 20th-century South African politicians 21st-century South African politicians