Dumisani Shadrack Kumalo (16 September 1947 – 20 January 2019) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and diplomat, who served as the

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

of South Africa to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

."NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SOUTH AFRICA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS"
UN Press Release, BIO/3224, 21 April 1999.

Early life

He was born in Kwambunda, Natal on the banks of the

Blood River Blood River ( af, Bloedrivier; zu, Ncome) is situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This river has its sources in the hills south-east of Utrecht; leaving the highlands it is joined by two important tributaries that originate in the Schurvebe ...

. His father was a carpenter and preacher and his mother a counsellor and midwife. The family soon moved to

Evaton Evaton is a township north of Sebokeng, thats divided into three; Evaton Central, Evaton West (popularily known as "Mkhelele") and Evaton North, in the Emfuleni Local Municipality of Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1904. Like other ...

, south of Johannesburg. He was educated at missionary school, Wilburforce College in Evaton. He would later obtain a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

and later in exile, a Master of Arts from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. He started work as a journalist in 1967, working for the ''Golden City Post'', feature writer for '' DRUM'' from 1969 until 1970, and as a political reporter for the Johannesburg '' Sunday Times'' in 1970. After the Soweto Riots in 1976, he joined Total Oil as a marketing executive.

Political life

In 1977 he was forced into exile for his anti-apartheid activities and sought asylum in the United States, where he continued his political activity. As Project Director at the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) and its sister organisation The Africa Fund from 1979 to 1997 he played a key role in the mobilisation of U.S. sanctions against apartheid, helping to build the divestment movement which led to 28 states, 24 counties and more than 90 cities and 155 colleges and universities divesting from U.S. banks and companies which did business with the South African government. He visited almost every state in the union, testifying before state legislatures and city councils and speaking in communities and at countless colleges and universities. After the end of apartheid he returned to South Africa and was appointed Director of the United States Desk in the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1997. Kumalo was subsequently appointed as South Africa's Permanent Representative to the United Nations; he presented his credentials as Permanent Representative on 21 April 1999. He spoke to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

on 13 April 2004, encouraging participation of the member nations of the

, on the matter of the

Kimberley Process Certification Scheme The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in ...

. He was on the Advisory Committee of the African Activist Archive Project of the African Studies Center at Michigan State Universitybr>
He returned to South Africa in 2009 and until 2013, he was CEO of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation.

Death

Kumalo died at his home in Midrand after an asthma attack. He was survived by his wife Tikky and two sons.

References

External links

African Activist Archive Project
(do a search for Kumalo)
Interview with Dumisani Shadrack Kumalo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumalo, Dumisani 1947 births 2019 deaths Anti-apartheid activists Permanent Representatives of South Africa to the United Nations South African diplomats