Kevin Mileham

Kevin Mileham MP
Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the National Assembly of South Africa
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 May 2014
Preceded by	John Steenhuizen
Shadow Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform in the National Assembly of South Africa
In office June 2013 – May 2014
Preceded by	Jac Bekker
Succeeded by	Tsepo Mhlongo
Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance Buffalo City Caucus
In office May 2011 – June 2013
Personal details
Born	(1971-04-23) 23 April 1971 Durban, South Africa
Political party	Democratic Alliance
Residence	East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Alma mater	University of the Witwatersrand
Occupation	Politician

Kevin Mileham (born 23 April 1971) is a South African politician, a Member of the South African Parliament with the Democratic Alliance (South Africa) and the Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.^[1] Mileham was first elected to Parliament on 3 June 2013, replacing Athol Trollip.^[2] His first parliamentary role was as the Shadow Deputy Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development. After the 2014 National Elections, he was appointed the Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

Background

Mileham matriculated with academic honours from Selborne College in East London in 1988 and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce (Legal) degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. He continued his studies to obtain a post-graduate Diploma in Advertising and Marketing from AAA School of Advertising.

Post studies, he commenced work for The Jupiter Drawing Room, an award-winning South African advertising agency, handling brands such as Coca-Cola and 5FM. In 1996, he was employed by Coca-Cola to launch the Powerade sports drink in South Africa, successfully taking it to number 2 position in terms of market share within 6 months of launch. In 1998 he joined Microsoft South Africa as a marketing manager, initially only covering consumer products, but later promoted to include all desktop applications (including Microsoft Office and Windows) for both the consumer and business sectors.

In 2001, he relocated to the Eastern Cape, where he founded his own marketing and management consultancy business, Forward Momentum, focusing on the development of non-governmental organizations and small, medium and micro enterprises.

Politics

Mileham was actively involved in party politics for the former Democratic Party as a party agent and activist during the 1994 and 1999 elections. In 2003, he became actively involved in local politics as a result of the failure of the local municipality to provide services to disadvantaged communities. He joined the Democratic Alliance in Port Alfred (Ndlambe Local Municipality) where he was soon appointed constituency chairperson. In 2006, he was elected to the Ndlambe municipal council, and appointed as the party's Chief Whip and finance spokesperson.

In 2007, Mileham was selected to be part of the first class of Democratic Alliance's Young Leaders Programme, a year-long political and leadership development course.^[3][4] In 2009, he stood unsuccessfully for Parliament, narrowly missing appointment by a fraction of a percentage point. In 2011, he was elected as a municipal councillor to the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, and was appointed as the DA's Chief Whip.

In 2013, following the death of Pine Pienaar, a member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, the DA's provincial leader Athol Trollip elected to return to the province, paving the way for Mileham to take up Trollip's seat in parliament.^[5] His appointment as Shadow Deputy Minister for Land Reform and Rural Development^[6] came at a time (just before the 2014 National and Provincial Elections) when land restitution was in the national spotlight, and Mileham was soon in the thick of it^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

After his re-election in 2014, Mileham was appointed the Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs by the new Leader of the Opposition, Mmusi Maimane, a role he continues to hold.

Offices held

References