Ruth Segomotsi Mompati (14 September 1925 – 12 May 2015) was a South African politician and a founding member of the

Federation of South African Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afric ...

(FEDSAW) in 1954. Mompati was one of the leaders of the Women's March on 9 August 1956.

Early life and education

Ruth Segomotsi Mompati was born in the far north of the former Cape Province (today's North West Province). Mompati grew up in

Ganyesa Ganyesa is a town of about 19,000 people in the North West province of South Africa. It is located north-west of Vryburg and about south-west of the provincial capital Mafikeng. It is an administrative centre for the far north-western area of t ...

, a village in the North West province. Her parents, Mrs Seli Babe Seichoko and Mr Gaonyatse Seichoko, were church leaders in the London Missionary Society Church (LMSC),

Vryburg Vryburg () is a large agricultural town with a population of 48,400 situated in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality of the North West Province (South Africa), North West Province of South Africa. It is the seat and the industrial ...

. After completing Standard 6, she worked for a white family as a childminder and later went to Tigerkloof Teachers Training College where she obtained a Primary School Teacher's Diploma in 1944.

Career

In 1944 Mompati began teaching in Dithakwaneng Primary School near Vryburg. She later moved to Vryburg Higher Primary School, where she was a teacher until 1952. Mompati was automatically terminated from her teaching position 1952 when she got married as the apartheid laws prohibited black female teachers from getting married. Mompati moved to Johannesburg in 1952, just after the Defiance Campaign began. She went to a private school to study shorthand and typing From 1953 to 1961 she worked as a typist for

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and

Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Higher education Oliv ...

in their law practice in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. She joined 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 ...

in 1954, and was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Women's League. In 1990, Mompati was chosen to be part of the

ANC 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 installe ...

delegation that negotiated the peaceful transition with the South African government and conditions to be met to end political conflict in South Africa at Groote Schuur. She was elected as a member of parliament in South Africa's first democratic election in 1994, where she served in the National Assembly until 1996. She was appointed ambassador to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

from 1996 to 2000. Upon her return from Switzerland she was elected mayor of

, North West. Mompati served as an executive member of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Veteran's Association.

Death

Mompati died on 12 May 2015 following an illness at a Cape Town hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mompati, Ruth 1925 births 2015 deaths African National Congress politicians South African revolutionaries UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel Anti-apartheid activists Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Women mayors of places in South Africa 20th-century South African women politicians 20th-century South African politicians People from North West (South African province)