Gertrude Ntiti Shope OMSS (15 August 1925 – 22 May 2025) was a South African trade unionist and politician.

Life and career

Born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

on 15 August 1925, Shope was raised and educated in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

). She worked as a teacher before becoming 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 ...

in 1954. Joining the campaign against Bantu education, she turned to teaching crafts instead. She then became active in the

Federation of South African Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afri ...

, and for a time led the Central Western Jabavu Branch of the ANC women's section. She lived in exile from 1966 to 1990, leading the party's delegation to the

Nairobi Women's Meeting Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

and working for the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...

. From 1970 until 1971 she was secretary to

Florence Moposho Florence Mophosho (1921 – 9 August 1985) was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist of the African National Congress (ANC). A stalwart of the ANC Women's League, she was a member of the ANC National Executive Committee of the ...

, helping to establish publication of the newsletter ''

Voice of Women Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (), also known as the Voice of Women or VOW, is a Canadian anti-nuclear Pacifist organisation, pacifist organization that was formed in 1960. The organization was created in response to an article in which Lotta D ...

''. With her husband, Mark, she lived in a variety of locations during her exile, including

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. In

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

she served as chief representative for the African National Congress. From 1991 to 1993 Shope headed the

African National Congress Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from ...

. In the 1994 general election she was returned to

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. She was married to her husband Mark Shope in 1957 till her husband's death in 1998, with whom she had three children: politician Lyndall and diplomats Lenin and Thaninga. Shope died on 22 May 2025, at the age of 99. President of South Africa,

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

directed national flags to be flown at half-mast.

References

1925 births 2025 deaths 20th-century South African women politicians South African anti-apartheid activists South African women trade unionists South African expatriates in Southern Rhodesia Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999 Activists from Johannesburg Politicians from Johannesburg Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa South African women civil rights activists South African civil rights activists {{SouthAfrica-politician-stub