David John Maynier (born 22 October 1968) is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n politician who has been the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Education since May 2022 and a Member 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, ...

since May 2019. He served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities from May 2019 to May 2022. Maynier was a Member of Parliament from 2009 to 2019, where he was Shadow Minister of Finance from 2015 to 2019 and the Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans from 2009 to 2015.

Background

Maynier matriculated from

Grey High School Grey High School is a State school, semi-private English-medium high school (grades 8 to 12) for boys situated in the suburb of Mill Park in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the top sporting schools in the coun ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

and a master's degree in Public Administration and Management from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

. He is a former submarine officer and navy diver in the

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prote ...

. Maynier joined the Democratic Alliance as a researcher in 1999 and quickly rose to the position of Director of Research. In August 2000 he became Chief of Staff to party leader

Tony Leon Anthony James Leon (born 15 December 1956) is a South African politician who served as leader of the opposition from 1999 to 2007 as leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA). He led the DA from its inception in 2000, until his retirement from ...

- a position he served until June 2004, when he became Assistant to the Chairperson of the Federal Executive. In February 2005 he was again promoted to Director of Fundraising, and he was awarded the party's 'Top Fundraiser of the Year' award at the 2007 Federal Congress, after modernising and professionalising the party's fundraising system. In 2008, he was appointed the DA's Deputy CEO with special responsibility for 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 ...

, the province where the DA has its strongest support base in South Africa. In 2009 he was the party's Campaign Manager in the

for the 2009 general election. The party won 51.3% of the vote in the province—up significantly from 27% in 2004. The result allowed

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 ...

to become Premier of the Western Cape, and saw the DA take control of the provincial legislature in an alliance with 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 ...

Member of Parliament

After managing the DA's successful Western Cape electoral campaign, Maynier became a Member of Parliament, after appearing eleventh on the party's Western Cape national list. Following the election he was appointed Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. In his maiden speech to Parliament, Maynier issued a damning critique of the National Defence Force's state of combat readiness—telling Defence Minister

Lindiwe Sisulu Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu (born 10 May 1954) is a South African politician. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa between April 1994 and March 2023. During that time, from 2001 to 2023, she se ...

: On 2 August 2009, Maynier announced that a crisis in South Africa's National Conventional Arms Control Committee had resulted in weapons deals being conducted between South African firms and rogue states like

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. This included the committee authorising the sale of radar detectors for use on

n submarines, and aviator

G-suit A g-suit, or anti-''g'' suit, is a flight suit worn by aviators and astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration force ( g). It is designed to prevent a black-out and g-LOC (g-induced loss of consciousness) caused by the blood poo ...

s to Iran. On 27 March 2013 Maynier led the thrust for a parliamentary inquiry into the SANDF's intervention in the Central African Republic coup. In 2015, Maynier was appointed Shadow Minister of Finance by the new DA leader Mmusi Maimane. In March 2019, the Democratic Alliance revealed their election lists for the 2019 elections. Maynier was announced as a candidate for the

. He left Parliament on 7 May 2019.

Western Cape provincial government

On 22 May 2019, Maynier was sworn in as a Member of the

. The following day, 23 May 2019, he was named the new Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities. On 9 December 2019, Maynier announced the establishment of a task team to address congestion issues at the

Port of Cape Town The Port of Cape Town is a seaport situated next to the central business district of Cape Town, South Africa. The port, which lies within Table Bay, is managed by the Transnet National Ports Authority, a subsidiary of state-owned enterprise ...

container terminal. On 22 April 2022, premier

Alan Winde Alan Richard Winde (born 18 March 1965) is a South African politician and businessman. He is the 8th and current Premier of the Western Cape, having held the position since 2019. He has been a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament si ...

announced that Maynier would be taking over from

Debbie Schäfer Deborah Anne "Debbie" Schäfer (born 18 December 1966) is a South African politician and lawyer who served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Education and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament for the Democratic Alliance ...

as the Provincial Minister of Education when she leaves office on 15 May 2022. DA chief whip

Mireille Wenger Mireille Mary Wenger (born 1 June 1980) is a South African politician who is serving as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health and Wellness since June 2024. A member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), she has been a Member of the Western ...

would then replace Maynier as the Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities. Maynier officially became the Provincial Minister of Education 16 May 2022 as the changes made by premier Winde took effect. Following his re-election in the 2024 provincial election, Maynier was retained as provincial education minister by premier

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maynier, David Living people Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians 1968 births Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014 Harvard Kennedy School alumni University of Cape Town alumni Mason Fellows Alumni of Grey High School