Christopher "Chris" John Pappas (born 26 August 1991) is a South African politician who is the mayor of the uMngeni Local Municipality. A member of the Democratic Alliance, he served as party's deputy provincial leader from 2021 until 2023. Pappas served as a member of the eThekwini city council from 2016 until 2019 and as a DA Member of the

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members ...

from 2019 to 2021. In September 2023, Pappas was included on the " TIME100 Next list" by

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

. He was his party's candidate for the premiership of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

in the country's 2024 election.

Early life and education

Pappas is from Mooi River and has a sister. He attended

Treverton Preparatory School and College Treverton Preparatory School and College, situated in Mooi River ( Umgungundlovu District Municipality), South Africa, cater to boys and girls of all faiths from Grades 0 to 12 and Post-Matric. As a member of the Independent Schools Associati ...

and then Hilton College, matriculating in 2009. While studying Town and Regional Planning at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

, he was approached by

COPE A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...

to run for the student representative council under their banner. He agreed and was then elected to the university's SRC. Pappas served as the temporary president of the student body at one stage.

Career

Before going into politics, Pappas worked as a development economist for Urban-Econ. Having joined the Democratic Alliance, he was the party's campaign manager in

for the 2014 general election. He was elected as the ward councillor for ward 31 in the

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality, created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 Districts of South Africa, di ...

in 2016. In August 2018, he was criticised for calling the city "dirty and dangerous". Pappas was elected to the

in the May 2019 provincial election. He was then appointed as the DA's spokesperson on agriculture. In January 2021, Pappas was made the party's spokesperson on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, replacing Mbali Ntuli. On 27 March 2021, he was elected as the Deputy Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance in

, defeating Hlengiwe Shozi and Samier Singh.

Mayor of uMngeni

On 11 September 2021, Pappas was announced as the DA's mayoral candidate for the uMngeni Local Municipality ahead of the local government election in November 2021. uMngeni became the first DA majority municipality in KZN, which was accredited to Pappas' "spirited campaign". On 12 November 2021, the suspended ANC municipal manager Thembeka Cibane tried to preside over the inaugural council meeting. The DA objected to her presiding over the meeting at the Howick-West community hall and refused to participate as it would be illegal. The DA subsequently walked out of the meeting. Pappas and other DA councillors were sworn in at the Howick Magistrate's court later that day. On 17 November, the DA filed court papers to compel the acting municipal manager, Sandile Buthelezi, to call a first council meeting for the municipality's leadership to be elected. The Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled in favour of the DA and ordered Buthelezi to convene a council meeting. On 22 November 2021, Pappas was elected as mayor, becoming the first DA mayor in KwaZulu-Natal. He is the first openly gay man to be elected mayor in the country and across

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. In January 2023, Pappas announced that he would be standing down as deputy provincial leader of the DA at the party's provincial conference in April. Outgoing deputy provincial chairman Sthembiso Ngema was elected to succeed him. On 13 September 2023, Pappas was included on the " 2023 TIME100 Next list" by

Personal life

Pappas is openly gay. He speaks Zulu and English fluently.

References

External links

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Hon. CJ Pappas – KZN Legislature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pappas, Christopher Living people 1991 births Alumni of Hilton College (South Africa) Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Development economists LGBTQ mayors South African gay politicians Mayors of places in South Africa Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature People from Mpofana Local Municipality South African people of Greek descent University of Pretoria alumni White South African people