Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku (born 7 July 1950) is a

Swazi Swazi may refer to: * Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa * Swazi language * Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked count ...

politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

since 2018 and as Acting Prime Minister from 13 December 2020 to 16 July 2021. Earlier, he served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2008 until 2013.

Early life

Masuku was born on 7 July 1950. He received his Master of Science degree from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Career

In the 1990s, he filled various posts in the government of Swaziland, including Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Minister for Economic Planning and Development, and

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1996 to 1998. He then worked with the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, as director of the liaison offices in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and later New York. He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 2008 by King

Mswati III Mswati III (born Makhosetive Dlamini; 19 April 1968) is the ''Ngwenyama'' (King) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He heads an absolute monarchy, as he has veto power over all branches of government and is constitutionally immune fr ...

and served in that position until 2013, when he became the regional administrator for the Shiselweni district. Masuku returned to his position as Deputy Prime Minister when Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini presented his cabinet in November 2018. He became acting prime minister after Dlamini's death on 13 December 2020. According to the

Constitution of Eswatini The 2005 constitution is currently in force. The constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973 by a State of Emergency decree imposed by King Sobhuza II, the father of the current King Mswati III. The decree gave absolute power to ...

, Themba Masuku was supposed to serve as Acting Prime Minister for a maximum period of three months. In June and July 2021, amidst police and army brutality, Masuku was criticized for his handling of the

2021 Eswatini Protests 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

against the monarchy. In a sibaya on 16 July 2021, King Mswati replaced Masuku with Cleopas Dlamini as the new prime minister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masuku, Themba N. 1950 births Prime ministers of Eswatini Deputy prime ministers of Eswatini Agriculture ministers of Eswatini Finance ministers of Eswatini Planning ministers of Eswatini Food and Agriculture Organization officials Living people Swazi officials of the United Nations Swazi politicians University of Missouri alumni 21st-century Swazi people