Lindiwe Zulu

Lindiwe Daphney Zulu (21 April 1958 - ) is South Africa's Minister of Small Business Development.^[1]

Early life

Zulu was born on 21 April 1958 in the village of Nhlazatshe, Mpumalanga; however the village was razed to the ground during Apartheid.^[2] The village was forced to set up new homes in Madadeni, Newcastle which was in the Zululand Bantustan province. Zulu's parents moved their family to Swaziland as her mother is a Swazi from Gege. She was educated at St. Theresa’s and Mjingo schools before attending the Swaziland Cooperative Development College in Ezulwini. She then joined the African National Congress and went into exile in Mozambique.^[3]

Life in exile

Zulu went to the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College, Somafco, in Mazimbu, Tanzania before gaining a scholarship to study journalism in the USSR. She spent seven years in Moscow, achieving a master's degree in Journalism and fluency in Russian. In 1987 she went to Angola for full military training with the Pan Africanist Women's Organisation.

Return to South Africa

Zulu returned from exile in 1992 to became head of communications in the ANC Women’s League. She then became an executive committee member in 1993.^[4] In 1993 she was seconded to the ANC’s department of information and publicity as the spokesperson for the elections. In 1994 she joined the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and was appointed Deputy Speaker in 1995. From 1999-2001 she was a special advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 2001-2003 she was Chief Director for western and central Africa in the Department of Foreign Affairs. In 2004 she was posted to Brazil as South African Ambassador for four and a half years. Since 2009 she has been an ANC Member of Parliament. In 2013 she was appointed to the National Working Committee of the ANC. Since 2014 she has held the position of Minister of Small Business Development. ^[5]

Personal life

Zulua has four children: daughters Nokuthula and Phindile, and sons Sipho and Boitumelo. Zulu is married to Kgosietsile Itholeng, a fellow South African in exile, who she met in Angola. Her son, Sipho, is named after her father. Her brother was a member of the Pan African Congress.

References