Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe (born 18 February 1953) is a South African

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who was last appointed as Minister of Energy by

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 ...

on 26 February 2018. He served in the

government of South Africa The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary ...

Minister in the Presidency The minister in the presidency is a Minister (government), minister in the Cabinet of South Africa, appointed by the President of South Africa. The minister has general responsibility for portfolios in the President of South Africa, Office of th ...

from 2014 to 2018. Previously he was Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development from 2009 to 2014. Radebe was South Africa's longest continuously serving cabinet member post-1994, having been part of every national administration from 1994 until the 2019 election.

Education and personal life

Radebe was born in

Cato Manor Cato Manor is a settlement located from the city centre of Durban, South Africa. It was formed when Indian market gardeners came to settle in the area some time after it was given to George Christopher Cato in 1865, who was the first mayor of ...

, and lived there until 1958 when his family was forcibly removed to KwaMashu. He is married to Bridgette Radebe, South Africa's first black female mining entrepreneur and sister of the billionaire mining magnate,

Patrice Motsepe Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe (born 28 January 1962) is a South African billionaire businessman and football administrator. Patrice Motsepe was born to Kgosi Augustine Motsepe, a chief of the Mmakau branch of the Tswana people. Since March 2021, ...

. He studied towards a law degree at the University of Zululand, and completed an LLM in International Law at the Karl Marx University in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

in 1981. He has a daughter who goes by the entertainment name of Durban Gogo.

ANC history

Radebe joined 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 ...

(ANC) in 1976 while he was a student. In 1977 the ANC sent Radebe to

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, and soon after to

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 ...

where he worked as a journalist for a radio station in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

. After an unsuccessful secret mission by the ANC, Radebe was arrested in 1986, and was convicted under the Terrorism Act of the then

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

government. He was sentenced to a 10-year imprisonment on

Robben Island Robben Island () is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...

. After a successful 12-day hunger strike, Radebe was released from prison in 1990. After the 1994 democratic elections, Radebe served as

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

under

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. Under the leadership of

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

, Radebe served as

Minister of Public Enterprises The minister of public enterprises was a Minister (government), minister in the Cabinet of South Africa, cabinet of the national government of South Africa. Whomever held the position was the political head of the Department of Public Enterprise ...

(1999–2004) and Minister of Transport (2004–2009). He served as Minister of Constitutional and Justice Development (2009–2014) and Minister in the Presidency (2014–2018) under president Jacob Zuma and Minister of Energy from 2018 to 2019 under Cyril Ramaphosa. On 26 February 2007, Radebe was appointed acting Minister of Health due to the ongoing ill health of Health Minister

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang Mantombazana "Manto" Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang Order for Meritorious Service, OMSS (née Mali; 9 October 1940 – 16 December 2009) was a South African politician. She was Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999 and served as Minister of He ...

. He also served as Acting President of South Africa when both the President and Deputy President were away on official state visits.

Media appearances

* Motherland film (2010)

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radebe, Jeff 1953 births Living people Politicians from Durban Zulu people South African Communist Party politicians African National Congress politicians Justice ministers of South Africa Ministers of transport of South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2019–2024 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019 Leipzig University alumni Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2004–2009 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1999–2004