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Mamphela Aletta Ramphele (; born 28 December 1947) is a South African politician, anti-
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 ...
activist, medical doctor and businesswoman. She was a partner of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, with whom she had two children. She is a former vice-chancellor at 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 former managing director at the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
.Mamphela Ramphele to the rescue?
''Daily Maverick''
Ramphele founded the political party Agang South Africa in February 2013 but withdrew from politics in July 2014. Since 2018, she has been the co-president of the Club of Rome.


Early life

Ramphele, a Mopedi, was born in the Bochum District in Northern Transvaal (now
Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...
). She completed her schooling at Setotolwane High School in 1966 and subsequently enrolled for pre-medical courses at the University of the North. Her mother, Rangoato Rahab, and her father, Pitsi Eliphaz Ramphele were primary school teachers. In 1944, her father was promoted as headmaster of Stephanus Hofmeyer School. Ramphele contracted severe whooping cough at the age of three months. The wife of the local church minister, Dominee Lukas van der Merwe, gave her mother medical advice and bought medicines for the sick child that saved her life. In 1955, Ramphele witnessed a conflict between a racist Afrikaner church minister and the people of the village of Kranspoort. This contributed to her political awakening.


Education

Ramphele attended the G. H. Frantz Secondary School but in January 1962 she left for Bethesda Normal School, a boarding school which was part of the Bethesda teachers training college. In 1964, she moved to Setotolwane High School for her matriculation where she was one of only two girls in her class. On completion of her schooling in 1966, in 1967, Ramphele enrolled for pre-medical courses at the University of the North. In 1968, she was accepted into the University of Natal Medical School, then the only institution that allowed black students to enrol without prior permission from the government. Her meagre financial resources meant that she was forced to borrow money to travel to the Natal Medical School (now the Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Medical School). Ramphele won the 1968 South African Jewish Women’s Association Scholarship and the Sir Ernest Oppenheimer Bursary worth about R150 annually for the rest of her years at Medical School. Ramphele received her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( MBChB) from the
University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...
, a BComm in
Administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
from the University of South Africa as well as diplomas in tropical health &
hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
and
Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
from the
University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...
. In 1991 she received her PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cape Town. Ramphele has also authored and edited a number of books.


Activism

While at university, Ramphele became increasingly involved in student politics and anti-apartheid activism, becoming one of the founders of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), where she met Steve Biko, with whom she had a relationship. As a member of the BCM, she was crucially involved in organising and working with community development programmes. Biko and Ramphele had two children during their affair; Lerato Biko, born in 1974, and Hlumelo Biko, born in 1978. Lerato contracted fatal pneumonia when she was two months old.Mothibeli, Tefo
"Mamphela Ramphele: Academic Giant and Ray of Hope"
, Financial Mail, Johannesburg, 7 July 2006.
Their son Hlumelo Biko was born after Biko's death.Daley, Suzanne
"The Standards Bearer"
NY Times, New York, 13 April 1997.
Ramphele and her son would eventually work together in the Circle Group holding company for their family investments. Ramphele worked with the South African Students' Organisation (SASO), a breakaway from the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) that operated on English-speaking white campuses. NUSAS had black and white students as members. SASO was formed in 1969 under the leadership of Steve Biko. From 1970 onwards Ramphele became increasingly drawn into political activism with Biko, Barney Pityana and other student activists at the Medical School. She was elected the chairperson of the local SASO branch. Ramphele received her qualification in medicine in 1972. She began her medical internship at Durban’s King Edward VIII Hospital, later transferring to Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth. In 1974, Ramphele was charged under the Suppression of Communism Act for being in possession of banned literature. In 1975, she founded the Zanempilo Community Health Care Centre in Zinyoka, a village outside King William’s Town. It was one of the first primary healthcare initiatives outside the public sector in South Africa. During this time she was also the manager of the Eastern Cape branch of the Black Community Health Programme. She travelled extensively in the Eastern Cape, organising people to be drawn into community projects. In addition to her medical duties, Ramphele also became the director of the Black Community Programmes (BCP) in the Eastern Cape when Biko was banned. In August 1976, Ramphele was detained under Section 10 of the Terrorism Act, one of the first persons to be detained under this newly promulgated law. In April 1977, Ramphele was issued with banning orders and banished to Tzaneen, Northern Transvaal, where she remained until 1984. A member of the local church arranged for her to live with two African nuns in a local village, Tickeyline. She later established a home for herself in Lenyenye township near Tzaneen, although she remained under police surveillance. During her stay in Tzaneen, Ramphele established the Isutheng Community Health Program, with monetary aid from the BCP. This foundation was used to empower local women and aid them in growing vegetable gardens, amongst other initiatives. During her stay in Tzaneen, Ramphele enjoyed occasional illicit outings to escape everyday life, as well as visits from Helen Suzman, MP of the Progressive Party. Suzman assisted Ramphele in securing a passport when Ramphele travelled abroad. Ramphele also enjoyed visits from Father Timothy Stanton; an Anglican priest who visited her and celebrated Eucharist with her. In 1983, she completed her BComm degree through UNISA (the University of South Africa), which she had registered for in 1975. She also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Hygiene and a Diploma in Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand. This required that Ramphele apply for a special dispensation to travel to Johannesburg where she had to report at the John Vorster Square Police Station upon her arrival and departure. Ramphele left Lenyenye in 1984 to go to Port Elizabeth where she was offered a job at Livingstone Hospital. However, she left to take up an appointment at the University of Cape Town (UCT) that Francis Wilson, a Professor of Economics, had arranged. She was to work with him at the South African Labour and Development Research Unit
SALDRU
as a research fellow.


Career

Ramphele joined the University of Cape Town as a research
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
in 1986 and was appointed as one of its deputy vice-chancellors in 1991. She was appointed to the post of
vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...
of the university in September 1996, thereby becoming the first black woman to hold such a position at a South African university. Part of her executive role was to take charge of the university’s Equal Opportunity Policy Portfolio, with the aim of changing the culture of the institution. In 1994, Ramphele was a visiting scholar at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. In 2000, Ramphele became one of the four
managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
s of the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
. She was tasked with overseeing the strategic positioning and operations of the World Bank Institute as well as the vice-presidency of external affairs. She was the first South African to hold this position. Ramphele serves as a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, served as the director of The Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA) and as a board member of the Anglo-American Corporation, non-executive director of Medi Clinic Holdings and Transnet. Ramphele also served as a trustee for th
Link-SA trust
a charitable organisation that raises money to subsidise the tertiary education of South Africa's brightest underprivileged students. She was on the board of the
Mo Ibrahim Foundation The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is an African non-grant foundation founded in 2006 by businessman Mo Ibrahim. Headquartered in London and Dakar, Senegal, it works to strengthen governance and leadership in Africa through its key initiatives: * Ibra ...
, an organisation that supports good governance and great leadership in Africa. She was voted 55th in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004. She is co-founder of ReimagineSA and in 2018 was voted co-president of The Club of Rome


Politics

In 2013, Ramphele expressed interest in South African politics and resigned as the chairperson of Gold Fields. On 18 February 2013, she announced the formation of a new political party, named Agang South Africa (''Agang'' is Northern Sotho for "Build"), intended to challenge 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 ...
."Anti-Apartheid Leader Forms New Party in South Africa." ''New York Times.'' 18 February 2013. Some critics have challenged Ramphele's drawing on Steve Biko's legacy in her political campaigns. On 28 January 2014, Ramphele accepted an invitation from the Democratic Alliance to stand as their presidential candidate in the 2014 general election. On 31 January 2014, Ramphele issued a statement saying that she would not take up Democratic Alliance party membership and would remain the leader of Agang South Africa, resulting in confusion. On 2 February 2014, Helen Zille stated that Ramphele had reneged on her agreement to stand as the Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate. Ramphele subsequently apologised for the reversal of her decision, saying that the timing was not right as the reaction to it had shown people were unable to overcome race-based party politics. Agang South Africa won two seats in the
National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation sy ...
. Following internal conflict within the party, Ramphele announced her withdrawal from politics on 8 July 2014.


Honorary degrees and awards

Ramphele has received twenty-four honorary degrees and numerous awards, including: * Honorary doctorate University of Glasgow https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_973362_en.html 2023 * Honorary doctorate at th
International Institute of Social Studies
The Hague, The Netherlands, in 1997. * Honorary Doctor of Law from the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in 2001. * Honorary doctorate in humane letters from
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...
of the City University of New York in 1984. * Honorary Doctor of Science degree from
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
in May 1991. * Honorary doctorate in medicine from the
University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...
. * Medal of Distinction from
Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. * Ramphele is also a former fellow of the Bunting Institute and was elected as an honorary member of the Alpha and Iota chapters of
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
at Radcliffe and
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 ...
Colleges. * Honorary doctorate of humane letters degree from New York University in May 2007. * Admitted to the Order of Simon of Cyrene in 2010. * Officer of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
, the highest decoration in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. * Lifetime Achiever Award from the National Research Foundation in 2007.


Publications

* * * with Francis Wilson. This book draws together research conducted by the second Carnegie inquiry into poverty and development in South Africa and received the 1990 Noma Award, an annual prize given to African writers and scholars whose work is published in Africa. * co-editor with Barney Pityana, Francis Wilson, ''et al'' * co-editor with Chris McDowell, this publication deals with the ecological challenges facing post-apartheid South Africa. * This book was based on Ramphele's PhD
thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
in social anthropology, ''The Politics of Space'', and deals with life in the migrant labour hostels of
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 ...
. * * with Johnnetta B. Cole * *


See also

* List of people subject to banning orders under apartheid


Notes and references

* * * *


External links


Biography on Who's Who, South Africa


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramphele, Mamphela 1947 births Living people People from Limpopo Northern Sotho people University of Natal alumni South African anti-apartheid activists Rockefeller Foundation people Academic staff of the University of Cape Town University of Cape Town alumni South African activists South African women activists University of the Witwatersrand alumni Biko family Vice-chancellors of the University of Cape Town Members of the National Academy of Medicine Honorary Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019