Jayaseelan "Jay" Naidoo (born in 1954) is a South African politician and businessman who served as the founding general secretary of the

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union expelled ...

(COSATU) from 1985 to 1993. He then served as Minister responsible for the

Reconstruction and Development Programme Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) is a South African socio-economic policy framework implemented by the African National Congress (ANC) government of Nelson Mandela in 1994 after months of discussions, consultations and negotiations ...

in the first post-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

(1994–1996) and as Minister of Post, Telecommunications, and Broadcasting (1996–1999). Naidoo was a member of the NEC of the

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 ...

. He was at the forefront of the struggle against apartheid leading the largest trade union federation in South Africa.

Early life and education

Born in 1954, Naidoo enrolled 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 ...

to study for a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in pursuance of a medical career in 1975 to be a medical doctor but his studies were interrupted by the political turmoil at the time because of student uprisings.

Career

Political career

Naidoo became active in the

South African Students' Organisation The South African Students' Organisation (SASO) was a body of black South African university students who resisted apartheid through non-violent political action. The organisation was formed in 1969 under the leadership of Steve Biko and Barney P ...

(SASO) that was banned in 1977 just after its leader

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

was murdered in police detention. He then became a community-based organizer working with grassroots civic structures. He joined the

Federation of South African Trade Unions The Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU) was a trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was formed at a congress over the weekend of 14–15 April 1979 in Hammanskraal and officially launched five days l ...

as a volunteer in 1979. Naidoo was later appointed secretary general of the

Sweet, Food and Allied Workers' Union The Sweet, Food and Allied Workers' Union (SFAWU) was a trade union representing food processing workers in South Africa. The union was founded in February 1974 in Durban, with the assistance of the Urban Training Project. By 1977, it had spr ...

(SFAWU). In this capacity, he led the country's largest ever nationwide strike with around 3.5 million participants in 1991, paralyzing factories and businesses across South Africa and leaving people without the basic services normally provided by black employees. In 1995, Naidoo served on the selection panel appointed by President Mandela to interview and shortlist candidates for South Africa's

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

Later career

From 2002 until 2015, Naidoo was chair of the board of directors and chair of the Partnership Council of the

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a non-profit foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland. GAIN was developed at the UN 2002 Special Session of the General Assembly on Children. GAIN’s actions include improving the consumptio ...

(GAIN) headquartered in Geneva and launched at the 2002 UN Summit on Children as a public private partnership to tackle malnutrition facing 2 billion people in the world. He is the founder of the social development arm of an investment and management company, J&J Group, which he co-founded in 2000 in South Africa. From 2001 to 2010, Naidoo served as chairperson of the

Development Bank of Southern Africa The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is a development finance institution wholly owned by the Government of South Africa. The bank intends to "accelerate sustainable socio-economic development in the Southern African Development Communi ...

(DBSA), the premier development finance institution driving infrastructure in the SADC region. In 2010, Naidoo reportedly sold off a third of his stake in J&J Group and donated the proceeds to two unnamed charitable trusts. He has published his autobiography
‘Fighting for Justice’
and more recently published his boo
'Change: Organising Tomorrow, Today.'
In 2013, at the request of the French Minister of Development,

Pascal Canfin Pascal Canfin (born in Arras, 22 August 1974) is a French politician of La République en marche (LREM) who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament (EUP) since 2019. In the 2019 elections for the UE Parliament, he was elected in ...

, Naidoo co-authored a report (with

Emmanuel Faber Emmanuel Faber (born 22 January 1964) is a French businessman. He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of Danone, and the Chairman of the Board of directors. He was subsequently appointed Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Bo ...

) on reforming

Official Development Assistance Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in 1969. It ...

. That same year, he chaired an international inquiry into labour rights violations in

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its n ...

, alongside Alec Muchadehama, Paul Verryn and Nomthetho Simelane.

Other activities

Corporate boards

Old Mutual Old Mutual Limited is a pan-African investment, savings, insurance, and banking group. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the Botswana Stock Exchange. It was founded ...

, non-executive member of the board of directors (since 2007) * Hystra, member of the advisory board

Non-profit organizations

Mo Ibrahim Foundation
member of the board * Advanced Development for Africa (ADA), member of the international advisory board (since 2013) *

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

, Member of the Global Health Program Advisory Panel (since 2008)
'Earthrise Trust'
member of the board of trustees *

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

(ITU), member of the Telecom BoardAdvisory Bodies

(ITU).
‘Scatterlings of Africa’
patron * LoveLife South Africa, member of the board of trustees (2003–2010) * Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Board Chairman

Recognition

For his accomplishments Naidoo has gained many honors, including becoming the ''Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur'' (

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

), one of France's highest decorations, and received the ‘Drivers for Change Award’ from the Southern African Trust and ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cult ...

'' newspaper in October 2010. His most recent awards include th
Ellen Kuzwayo Award from the University of Johannesburg
in November 2012, as well as a
honorary doctorate technology degree in engineering and the built environment from the Durban University of Technology
awarded September 2013.

Personal life

Jay Naidoo is married to Lucie Pagé, an award-winning French-Canadian writer and journalist, and regards his three children as his greatest achievement.

References

External links

Naidoo's social justice blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Naidoo, Jay Living people 1954 births Congress of South African Trade Unions South African trade unionists South African activists South African people of Indian descent Communications ministers of South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa