Celia-Sandra Botha (born 25 February 1945) is a South African politician, who served as South Africa's Ambassador to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. She is the former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, on behalf of the Democratic Alliance and its leader,

Helen Zille Otta Helene Maree (''née'' Zille ; born 9 March 1951), known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. From 2009 until 2019, she w ...

. She announced her intention to step down from the position after the

2009 South African general election General elections were held in South Africa on 22 April 2009 to elect members of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures. These were the fourth general elections held since the end of the apartheid era. The North Gauteng High Cour ...

, to become an ambassador. Her term in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

ended in June 2013. She will reportedly not seek a leadership position in South Africa, but will participate in political life, and be part of the "battle of ideas".

Early life and career

Born to an Afrikaner farming family in

Viljoenskroon Viljoenskroon is a maize and cattle farming town located in the Free State province of South Africa. It was named after the original farm owner J. J. Viljoen and his horse ''Kroon'' (Crown).

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

, as early as the 1960s, Botha convinced local farmers to employ a social worker to service the needs of the rural black families. She also held talks with the Citrus Board for further winter aid for farmworkers. Having matriculated from Parys High School, Botha went on to complete a year in New York with the aid of a scholarship. Later she obtained a BA degree in economics at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

. She is married to a farmer and former MP Andries Johannes Botha and the couple have five children and five grandchildren. Shortly after the marriage, Botha embarked on a

Sesotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free Sta ...

and linguistics degree at

UNISA The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

. Botha also became heavily involved in the anti-apartheid movement. Along with

, Botha was a part of the

Black Sash The Black Sash is a South African human rights organisation. It was founded in Johannesburg in 1955 as a non-violent resistance organisation for liberal white women. Origins The Black Sash was founded on 19 May 1955 by six middle-class white ...

movement. She is not related to any of the other (pro-apartheid) political Bothas of South Africa, including P.W. Botha or

Pik Botha Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha, (27 April 1932 – 12 October 2018) was a South African politician who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era, the longest-serving in South African history. Known as a liber ...

. Botha was elected to the National Council of the Provinces for the Democratic Party in 1999. She served as the party's caucus leader from 2000 to 2004.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly

In May 2007, Sandra Botha was elected by the Democratic Alliance as their representative and official Leader of the Opposition. Botha gained a majority over former NP cabinet minister, Tertius Delport.The DA has a new face in parliament
Retrieved on 19 March 2019. Prior to her stepping down from Parliament in 2009, Botha had challenged the government on many issues. In particular, Botha was vocal about her dissatisfaction following a scandal where four white doctors in the Western Cape relocated overseas. South Africa's controversial affirmative action policies had allegedly prevented them from working in government hospitals, despite a shortage of doctors and many vacancies in the province. Then-president

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

denied that this was the case and rebuked Botha for making serious allegations against him based on one newspaper article. Botha has also called for a major overhaul of the education system.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botha, Sandra 1945 births Living people People from Moqhaka Local Municipality Afrikaner anti-apartheid activists Afrikaner people Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Ambassadors of South Africa to the Czech Republic Stellenbosch University alumni University of South Africa alumni 21st-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African politicians South African women ambassadors 21st-century diplomats Black Sash South African women diplomats Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa