Beverley Ann Schäfer is a South African politician who served as the Deputy Speaker of 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, ...

from May 2019 until May 2024. She served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities from November 2018 to May 2019. Between June 2014 and October 2018, she served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Economic Opportunities, Tourism and Agriculture in the provincial parliament. She was the Cape Town City Councillor for Ward 54 from 2011 to 2014. She is a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Political career

Schäfer served as Head of the Democratic Alliance's Online Marketing and Social Media Department from 2009 until 2011. In May 2011, she was elected as the Cape Town City Councillor for Ward 54. The ward included areas such as Green Point,

Mouille Point Mouille Point ("Mu-lee") is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, situated between the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and Granger Bay to the east, Green Point, Cape Town, Green Point to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to t ...

Robben Island Robben Island () is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...

Sea Point Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is an affluent and densely populated suburb of Cape Town, situated in the Western Cape, between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). M ...

, Fresnaye,

Bantry Bay Bantry Bay () is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 miles) wide at the head and wide at the entrance. Geograp ...

, Clifton and northern parts of

Camps Bay Camps Bay (Afrikaans: ''Kampsbaai'') is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, and the small bay on the west coast of the Cape Peninsula after which it is named. In summer it attracts many South African and foreign visitors. History The ...

. She served as a councillor until she was elected to

in May 2014. She took office as a Member on 21 May 2014. Schäfer was subsequently appointed Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Economic Opportunities and a whip for the Democratic Alliance in the legislature. On 19 October 2018, Premier Helen Zille announced that Schäfer would succeed Alan Winde as Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities. She was sworn in on 1 November 2018 by Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe. Schäfer was elected Deputy Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament on 22 May 2019, succeeding

Piet Pretorius Piet Pretorius was the deputy speaker of 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 Pr ...

. In March 2023, Schäfer was criticised for organising an event at the Provincial Parliament for British cardiologist and COVID-19 vaccine critic Aseem Malhotra to talk about "unsafe and ineffective" vaccines. Speaker Daylin Mitchell and premier Alan Winde both condemned the event. Schäfer did not stand for re-election in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

and left the Provincial Parliament in May 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Beverley Living people Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament White South African people Women members of provincial legislatures of South Africa 21st-century South African women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Women legislative speakers