Early life and education
Thabethe was born on 26 September 1959. After the end of apartheid, she took postgraduate education in economics at the University of South Africa, where she completed a certificate and an advanced diploma in 2008.Trade union activism
Thabethe rose to prominence during apartheid as a Trade unions in South Africa, trade unionist in the Chemical Workers' Industrial Union (CWIU) in present-day Gauteng. She joined the union in 1983 at her workplace and rose through its ranks from shop steward to national executive member. A protegé of Bertha Gxowa, she was influential as one of the few women in the trade union movement at the time. CWIU was a founding affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the Tripartite Alliance partner of the African National Congress (ANC). Ahead of South Africa's 1994 South African general election, first democratic elections in April 1994, Thabethe stood as a candidate for the ANC; with Joyce Mabudafhasi and Susan Shabangu, she was one of three women whom COSATU nominated for inclusion on the ANC list.Legislator: 1994–2005
In the April 1994 election, Thabethe was elected to represent the ANC in the National Assembly of South Africa, National Assembly, the lower house of the new Parliament of South Africa, South African Parliament. She served continuously in the National Assembly for the next 25 years, gaining re-election to five consecutive terms; for the last three terms, from April 2004 onwards, she represented the Gauteng (National Assembly of South Africa constituency), Gauteng constituency. During her first decade in Parliament, as an ordinary Member of Parliament, Thabethe served in several different Committees of the Parliament of South Africa, portfolio committees and was a member of both the ANC Women's Parliamentary Caucus and of the Multi-Party Women's Caucus. She also represented Parliament at the Southern African Development Community, and from 1996 onwards she was an ANC Whip (politics), whip. After the 2004 South African general election, April 2004 general election, at the outset of the 24th South African Parliament, Third Parliament, the ANC selected Thabethe for election as chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs. In that position she succeeded Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, who had been elected as Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, Deputy Speaker. During this period she also served a term as deputy chairperson of the Gauteng branch of the ANC Women's League, and she was also a member of the regional executive committee of the mainstream ANC's Ekhuruleni branch.Deputy minister: 2005–2019
Thabethe served as committee chairperson for just over a year: on 22 June 2005, reshuffling Second Cabinet of Thabo Mbeki, his second-term cabinet, President Thabo Mbeki announced her appointment as Minister of Trade and Industry (South Africa), Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. At the same time, he announced that he would appoint a second Deputy Minister in the portfolio, Rob Davies (politician), Rob Davies. Together they deputised Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa. They were sworn in to office on 23 June. Both Thabethe and Davies, along with Minister Mpahlwa, were retained in the ministry when Mbeki was succeeded by President Kgalema Motlanthe in 2008 South African presidential election, a midterm presidential election in 2008. After the 2009 South African general election, April 2009 general election, Thabethe was re-elected to her parliamentary seat, but newly elected President Jacob Zuma declined to reappoint her as deputy minister. Instead, in May, the ANC appointed her as chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Energy. She held that position for 18 months, until Zuma's first cabinet reshuffle on 31 October 2010. In that reshuffle, Zuma restored Thabethe to her former position of Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry; succeeding Maria Ntuli, she served alongside Thandi Tobias as deputy to Davies, who had been promoted to Minister.She continued in the deputy ministry until the 2014 South African general election, May 2014 general election, in which she was elected to her fifth and final term in the National Assembly. Announcing Second Cabinet of Jacob Zuma, his second-term cabinet on 25 May 2014, Zuma appointed Thabethe as Minister of Small Business Development, Deputy Minister of Small Business Development – a newly established portfolio, led by Minister Lindiwe Zulu. In the early hours of 31 March 2017, Zuma announced a major cabinet reshuffle in which Thabethe was moved to the post of Deputy Minister of Tourism, serving under Minister Tokozile Xasa. She served in that position for the rest of the 26th South African Parliament, Fifth Parliament, gaining reappointment under President Cyril Ramaphosa; after he 2018 South African presidential election, took office in February 2018, Ramaphosa replaced Xasa with Minister Derek Hanekom. In mid-2018, the Parliamentary Monitoring Group reported that Thabethe was one of five incumbent ministers and deputy ministers who had not attended a single parliamentary committee meeting that year.Presidential envoy: 2019–2021
Thabethe did not stand for re-election to Parliament in the 2019 South African general election, May 2019 general election. Instead, on 4 November 2019, President Ramaphosa named Thabethe as one of three special investment Special envoy, envoys tasked with supporting his drive to attract United States dollar, $100 billion in new Foreign direct investment in South Africa, foreign direct investment; the other envoys were Jeff Radebe, focusing on the Mining in South Africa, oil and gas industry, and Derek Hanekom, Thabethe's former boss, who with Thabethe was to focus on investment in Tourism in South Africa, the tourism sector. She also served on Ramaphosa's Presidential Advisory Committee on Investment.Personal life and death
Thabethe was seriously injured in a car accident in Katlehong, Gauteng on 29 January 2021. After waking from a coma, she was in Physical medicine and rehabilitation, rehabilitation for her injuries in March when her health worsened; she died in hospital on 26 March. She was buried at Heroes' Acre, Pretoria, Heroes' Acre on 3 April after a funeral at Change Bible Church in Katlehong, where the speakers included Panyaza Lesufi and Faith Mazibuko. In a statement, President Ramaphosa called her "a champion of economic transformation and equity", and the ANC called her a "distinguished daughter of the soil". Thabethe had one daughter.References
1959 births 2021 deaths 20th-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African women politicians African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2004–2009 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019 Politicians from Gauteng Road incident deaths in South AfricaExternal links
* {{People's Assembly (South Africa), id=elizabeth-thabethe, name=Ms Elizabeth Thabethe