Rejoice Thizwilondi Mabudafhasi (born 23 May 1943) is a South African politician who represented 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 ...

(ANC) in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

from 1994 until her resignation in April 2017. She was appointed as South Africa's Ambassador to Zimbabwe in 2021. Mabudafhasi previously served as Deputy Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism from 1999 to 2009 under 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 ...

and then, under President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

, as Deputy Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs from 2009 to 2014 and as Deputy Minister for Arts and Culture from 2014 to 2017. She resigned from Parliament after Zuma fired her from the latter position in 2017. A former

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and

anti-apartheid activist The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid, apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by ...

, she also served on the ANC's

National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

between 2007 and 2022.

Early life and career

Mabudafhasi was born on 23 May 1943. She served a brief stint as a teacher at Tshilidzi School in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

from 1962 to 1963 before becoming a librarian at the

University of the North The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions for ...

in 1965. While working at the university, she was active in the

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...

, including through the United Democratic Front and

Federation of Transvaal 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 ...

. From 1992 to 1994, she also served as national treasurer of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union, an affiliate of the ANC-allied

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions ...

(COSATU).

Career in government

Mabudafhasi left the University of North after the 1994 general election, in which she was elected to an ANC seat in the first post-apartheid

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. With

Susan Shabangu Susan Shabangu (28 February 1956) is a South African politician who has been a member of parliament representing the African National Congress since May 1994. She previously held the position of Minister of Social Development. Prior to that, sh ...

and

Elizabeth Thabethe Elizabeth Thabethe (26 September 1959 – 26 March 2021) was the Deputy Minister of Tourism in South Africa. She was affiliated with the African National Congress and was a member of the National Assembly. As of July 2018, she had no recorded a ...

, she was one of three women who represented COSATU on the ANC's list of candidates.

Environmental Affairs and Tourism: 1999–2009

After her re-election to Parliament in the 1999 general election, President

appointed Mabudafhasi as Deputy Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism. She retained that office from June 1999 until May 2009, throughout Mbeki's tenure and the brief term of his successor,

Kgalema Motlanthe Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (; born 19 July 1949) is a South African politician who was South Africa's third president of South Africa, president between 25 September 2008 and 9 May 2009, following Thabo Mbeki's resignation. Thereafter, he was depu ...

; she served under Ministers

Valli Moosa Mohammed Valli Moosa (born 8 February 1957 in Johannesburg) is a retired South African politician who was active in the United Democratic Front. Political career In the early 1990s, he participated for the ANC in the negotiations to end apart ...

and Marthinus van Schalkwyk. In addition, at the ANC's 52nd National Conference in December 2007, she was elected to her first five-year term on the party's

; by popularity, she was ranked 42nd of the 80 candidates elected, receiving 1,698 votes across the roughly 4,000 ballots cast.

Water and Environmental Affairs: 2009–2014

After the 2009 general election, newly elected President

reconfigured the executive and Mabudafhasi was appointed Deputy Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs under Minister

Buyelwa Sonjica Buyelwa Patience Sonjica (born 23 March 1950) is a South Africa, South African politician who served as Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs from May 2009 until November 2010.WASH News AfricEdna Molewa replaces Buyelwa Sonjica as Water and ...

(later replaced by

Edna Molewa Edna or EDNA may refer to: Places United States *Edna, California, a census-designated place *Edna Lake, Idaho *Edna, Iowa, an unincorporated town in Lyon County * Edna Township, Cass County, Iowa *Edna, Kansas, a city *Edna, Kentucky, an unin ...

). Midway through the legislative term, at the ANC's 53rd National Conference in December 2012, she was re-elected to the ANC National Executive Committee, ranked 27th of the 80 members by popularity.

Arts and Culture: 2014–2017

In the 2014 general election, Mabudafhasi was re-elected to her final term in Parliament, ranked 44th on the ANC's national party list. After the election, Zuma moved her from the Water and Environmental Affairs portfolio, appointing her Deputy Minister for Arts and Culture under Minister

Nathi Mthethwa Emmanuel Nkosinathi "Nathi" Mthethwa is a South African politician who has served as Minister of Arts and Culture since February 2014. He was appointed again in 2019 for his second term, taking also the portfolio of Sport under his wing. He also ...

. However, less than three years later, Zuma fired her in a cabinet reshuffle announced in late March 2017. Shortly afterwards, she announced that she would also resign as an ordinary Member of Parliament, effective from 30 April 2017.

Later career

Despite her resignation from Parliament, Mabudafhasi was re-elected to another five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee at the party's next elective conference in December 2017.' In 2021, she was appointed South African Ambassador to Zimbabwe by Zuma's successor, President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

. She did not stand for re-election to the ANC National Executive at the 55th National Conference in December 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mabudafhasi, Rejoice Living people 1943 births 20th-century South African politicians 20th-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa African National Congress politicians