Cathlene Labuschagne is a South African politician serving as a permanent delegate to the National Council of the Provinces from the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

since 2014. Labuschagne is a party member of the Democratic Alliance.

Life and career

Labuschagne was born in

Durbanville Durbanville, previously called Pampoenkraal, is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, part of the greater City of Cape Town, Cape Town metropolitan area. It is a semi-rural residential suburb on the north-eastern outskirts of the ...

in the former

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

. She moved to

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and completed her high school education at Mariental High School in Mariental. She returned to South Africa and studied at the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

. She served as an alderman for Ward 70 in the

Cape Town City Council The City of Cape Town (; ) is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of 4,772,846. History Cape Town first received local self-government in 1839, wit ...

. Labuschagne 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 ...

from 6 May 2009 until 6 May 2014. During her tenure in the Provincial Parliament, she served as Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Local Government Oversight. She also served as the Democratic Alliance's spokesperson on Education. Labuschagne took office as a Member of the NCOP on 22 May 2014. She is a member of the Western Cape provincial delegation. She is currently serving as a

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

for the party. She was elected leader of the Democratic Alliance NCOP caucus on 19 September 2016, succeeding Elza van Lingen, who had resigned to become Mayor of Kouga. In May 2019, Labuschagne was re-elected as leader of the Democratic Alliance in the NCOP.DA elects new caucus leadership, Mike Waters won't return as deputy chief whip
. Retrieved on 30 May 2019.

References

Living people Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament White South African people Women members of the National Council of Provinces Women members of provincial legislatures of South Africa Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the National Council of Provinces Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2024–2029 {{WesternCape-politician-stub