Lulama Smuts Ngonyama (born 22 August 1952) is a South African diplomat who previously served as South Africa’s Ambassador to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and currently to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and a former head of communications for 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

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He was born in

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

, attended school in

Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort ( Xhosa: iBhofolo), officially renamed KwaMaqoma in March 2023, is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a mun ...

and graduated from the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, 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 ...

. Following the removal of President

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 ...

from the presidency in 2008, Ngonyama announced his resignation from the ANC to join the Congress of the People (COPE) breakaway party led by

Mosiuoa Lekota Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota (born 13 August 1948) is a South African anti-Apartheid revolutionary for the African National Congress (ANC) who served jail time with Nelson Mandela from 1985 and who left the ANC to form the Congress of the Peo ...

and

Mbhazima Shilowa Mbhazima Samuel Shilowa (born 30 April 1958) is a retired South African politician and former Trade unions in South Africa, trade unionist. He was the third Premier of Gauteng between 1999 and 2008. He was formerly the general secretary of the C ...

. Ngonyama was Spokesperson and Public Secretary of COPE. However, on 25 April 2014 Ngonyama resigned from COPE, citing the directionless nature of the movement.

References

1952 births Living people People from Uitenhage Xhosa people African National Congress politicians Congress of the People (South African political party) politicians Ambassadors of South Africa to Japan Ambassadors of South Africa to Spain University of Fort Hare alumni Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014 {{SouthAfrica-diplomat-stub