Lennit Hendry Max (born 1961/62) is a South African politician, advocate and police officer who served as a

Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) is the designation given to members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.{{cite web , url=http://www.wcpp.gov.za/content.aspx?pageId=f2264ae2-735f-4add-b532-336 ...

(2014–2018; 2004–2010), as Shadow Deputy Minister of Correctional Services (2010–2014), as

Member of 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 represen ...

(2010–2014) and as Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety (2009–2010). He was a member of the

Freedom Front Plus The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus or FF+; , ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Corné Mulder. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African Third Cabin ...

until his resignation in 2024. He was previously a member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

, the Democratic Alliance and the

Independent Democrats The Independent Democrats (ID) was a South African political party, formed by former Pan Africanist Congress member Patricia de Lille in 2003 via floor crossing legislation. The party's platform was premised on opposition to corruption, with ...

. On 22 September 2021, Max was announced as the FF Plus's mayoral candidate for the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town (; ) is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the metropolitan municipality (South Africa), local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of ...

ahead of the municipal elections scheduled for 1 November 2021. In November 2023 he was elected co-deputy leader for the Freedom Front Plus in the Western Cape.

Family and personal life

Max has studied at the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (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, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

and achieved an B.Proc: LLB Degree, as well as a National Diploma in Police Science, from the university. He has also achieved a Magister Legum in Labour Law and a Higher Certificate Forensic Examination and an LLD - Doctor of Laws degree from the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC; ) is a Public university, public research university in Bellville, South Africa, Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the Politics of South Africa, South ...

. Max is married and has one child, Lennit Jr.

Career

After studying, Max joined the South African Police Service (SAPS). He was appointed Western Cape Provincial Commissioner of Police in 1999 and served until 2003 when he went on early pension. He received a substantial

golden handshake A golden handshake is a clause in an executive employment contract that provides the executive with a significant severance package in the case that the executive loses their job through firing, restructuring, or even scheduled retirement. Thi ...

. He joined the Independent Democrats in early 2003 and became Western Cape Provincial Leader of the Independent Democrats in September of the same year. He was elected to the

Western Cape Provincial Parliament The Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located at 7 Wale Street in Cape Town. The Provincial Parliament, along with the other provincial legislatures of South Africa, ...

in 2004. His time at the Independent Democrats was filled with controversies. The party accused him of being corrupt. The party debated whether to remove him as the party's provincial leader in 2004. He did offer his resignation as the leader but rescinded it after he heard that it would mean that he would be removed as a Member of the Provincial Parliament. He allegedly delayed his disciplinary hearings. He was suspended and expelled from the party in 2005 after the party found that he had breached his membership code of conduct. Following his expulsion from the party, he successfully held onto his seat in the Provincial Parliament. He ultimately

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

on the first day of the 2005 floor-crossing period and joined the Democratic Alliance. He was appointed party spokesperson on Community Safety. In 2007, Max challenged incumbent Theuns Botha for the post of Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance. He lost by a wide margin. After the 2009 elections, he was appointed Provincial Minister of Community Safety by Premier

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 ...

. In March 2010, Max yet again challenged Provincial Leader Theuns Botha. Botha won with 543 out of 990 votes cast compared to Max's 317 and Dan Plato's 123 votes. Seven ballots were invalidated. In September 2010, it was announced that Max and

Albert Fritz Albert Theo Fritz (born 1 July 1959) is a South African politician and advocate. He was the Western Cape Department of Community Safety, Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety for two nonconconsecutive terms from 2010 to 2011 and ...

would exchange positions. Fritz would now become a

and Provincial Minister of Community Safety, while Max would become a

and Shadow Deputy Minister of Correctional Services. It was speculated in 2012 that Max would enter the Democratic Alliance provincial leadership race. Max said that he was interested in running for the position, but ultimately chose not to run. In 2015, Max declared his candidacy to replace

Ivan Meyer Ivan Henry Meyer (born 28 March 1962) is a South African politician who has been serving as the Government of the Western Cape, Western Cape Provincial Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism since 2019. He has held multiple pos ...

as Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance, as Meyer had announced that he was retiring after only one term. Max was defeated by

Patricia de Lille Patricia de Lille (née Lindt; born 17 February 1951) is a South African politician who is the current Minister of Tourism and leader of the political party Good. She served as Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure from 2019 to 2023. S ...

. In 2017, he yet again declared his candidacy for the position of Provincial Leader.

resigned as Provincial Leader in February 2017 and

Bonginkosi Madikizela Bonginkosi Success Madikizela (born 15 March 1975) is a South African politician. Born in Port Shepstone, in the province of Natal, Madikizela soon moved to Khayelitsha and became politically active in the area. He was a member of the African N ...

was appointed the interim leader. Max lost to Madikizela at the party's provincial congress in October 2017. On 30 June 2018, it was announced that Max had been appointed an advisor to the Minister of Police

Bheki Cele Bhekokwakhe "Bheki" Hamilton Cele (born 22 April 1952) was the South African Minister of Police from February 2018 to 17 June 2024. He was National Commissioner of the South African Police Service for two years, until misconduct allegations led ...

. He resigned as MPP on 2 July 2018. It was speculated that Max would leave the Democratic Alliance, but he remained a member of the party until he announced in December 2018 that he is terminating his party membership. He subsequently joined the

. In August 2021, Max joined the

. On 22 September 2021, he was announced as the FF Plus's candidate for

mayor of Cape Town The mayor of Cape Town is the head of the local government of Cape Town, South Africa; currently that government takes the form of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), Metropolitan Municipality. The mayoral position w ...

in the local government elections scheduled for 1 November 2021. Max resigned from the Freedom Front Plus in April 2024, claiming that the party was racist and focussed exclusively on

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

interests. The party denied Max's claims. Max apologised to the

coloured people Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

of South Africa for misleading them to vote for the Freedom Front Plus in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Max, Lennit Living people Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament Cape Coloureds African National Congress politicians South African police officers Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014