James Selfe (23 August 1955 – 21 May 2024) was a South African politician who was a Member of

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 ...

for the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), and the party's Federal Council Chairperson. He was also the party's Shadow Minister of Correctional Services. Selfe resigned from

and as the Shadow Minister of Correctional Services with effect from 31 December 2021.

Education and early career

Selfe was born in Pretoria, and attended Bishops (

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established o ...

) and 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 ...

. After earning a master's degree, Selfe worked between 1979 and 1988 as a researcher for the

Progressive Federal Party The Progressive Federal Party (PFP) () was a South African political party formed in 1977 through merger of the Progressive and Reform parties, eventually changing its name to the Progressive Federal Party. For its duration, it was the main parl ...

, the forerunner to today's Democratic Alliance. He became the party's communications director in 1988, and a member of the President's Council a year later. In 1992 he became an executive director of the party.

Parliamentary career

Selfe was elected to the

Senate of South Africa The Senate was the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa between 1910 and its abolition from 1 January 1981, and between 1994 and 1997. 1910–1981 Under white minority rule in the Union of South Africa, most of the senators were chosen ...

– later

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the post-apartheid constitution of South Africa, constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate of South Africa# ...

– in 1994 and participated in the

Constitutional Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

which drew up the democratic

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. In 1999 he stayed in parliament, but moved to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. In 2004, he was re-elected to

and became responsible for the Member of Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services in addition to being chair of the Democratic Alliance's Federal Council. In June 2019, Selfe announced his retirement as chair of the Democratic Alliance's Federal Council. He had served in the post for almost two decades under the leadership of

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and

Mmusi Maimane Mmusi Aloysias Maimane (born 6 June 1980) is a South African politician, businessman, and leader of Build One South Africa, a political party. Maimane is also the former Leader of South Africa, South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (So ...

. In February 2021, Selfe appeared before the

Zondo Commission The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, was a public inquiry established in Ja ...

to testify on

Bosasa Bosasa was a South African company specialising in providing services to government, most notably correctional services. It consisted of Bosasa Group, Bosasa Youth Development Centres, and African Global Operations (formerly Bosasa Operations). ...

's catering contracts for the Department of Correctional Services. Selfe told the commission that his "many calls over many years" that

should investigate

"fell on deaf ears". After 43 years in politics, Selfe announced his retirement in November 2021 due to deteriorating health. On 10 December 2021, the National Assembly bid farewell to long-serving Selfe in its final sitting of 2021. During this sitting, members of

from across the aisle praised Selfe for his contributions to South Africa.

Death

Selfe died in his house in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

on 21 May 2024, at the age of 68.

References

1955 births 2024 deaths Politicians from Pretoria South African people of British descent Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians University of Cape Town alumni 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 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2019–2024 Members of the Senate of South Africa Members of the National Council of Provinces Alumni of Diocesan College, Cape Town Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1999–2004 {{WesternCape-politician-stub