Sibusiso Mandlenkosi Emmanuel Bengu (b 8 May 1934) is a South African retired

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Bengu was born in Kranskop, Natal and become a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

in 1952. Sibusiso founded the Dlangezwa High School near

Empangeni Empangeni is a city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is approximately 157 kilometres north of Durban, in hilly countryside, overlooking a flat coastal plain and the major harbour town of Richards Bay 16 kilometres away. The N2 (South Africa), N2 ...

in 1969 and was principal until 1976. He completed a PhD in political sciences at the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

in Geneva in 1974 and in 1977 he was appointed a professor at the University of Zululand. He served as Secretary-General of

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party ( zu, IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko, IFP) is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founded t ...

but due to differences he clashed with

Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (born 27 August 1928) is a South African politician and Zulu traditional leader who is currently a Member of Parliament and the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family. He was Chief Minister of th ...

. Sibusiso left South Africa in 1978 and served as secretary for research and social action for the

Lutheran World Foundation Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. While he was abroad he met and became friends with

Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti- apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Higher education ...

, then acting President of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

. He returned in 1991 to become the first black Vice-chancellor of a South African university,

Fort Hare University The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across su ...

. Sibusiso became Minister of Education in 1994, and served until he was deployed to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

to become South Africa's

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

in 1999. He is married to Funeka and has four daughters and one son.

References

External links

Who's who
1934 births Living people People from Umvoti Local Municipality Zulu people Inkatha Freedom Party politicians Education ministers of South Africa Ambassadors of South Africa to Germany Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni {{SouthAfrica-diplomat-stub