Minister of Communications

Personal

• Date of Birth: 18 September 1937

Current Positions

• Minister of Communications of the Republic of South Africa since 17 June 1999.
• Founder member of the Board of the Women's Development Foundation.
• Board member of the International Women's Forum of South Africa.
• Patron of the Board of the International Marketing Council (IMC).

Academic Qualifications

• Secondary education in Natal Province, South Africa.
• University education at University of Fort Hare, Eastern Cape.
• Postgraduate studies in the United States of America (USA) (Ph D) in Sociology

Career/Positions/Memberships/Other Activities

• Teacher for twelve years, two years in KwaZulu-Natal and ten years in Swaziland.
• Lived in exile from her early working life until she returned to South Africa in 1990.
• Worked as Associate Professor at Rugters University in New Jersey, USA
• Senior lecturer and Registrar at the United Nations Institute for Namibia based in Lusaka, Zambia.
• Appointed Executive Director of the Education Development Trust (EDT) - active in the education movement and in policy development and fields of gender, economic development, local government and Information Communications and Technology Sector upon return from exile.
• Activist on Education, Gender and Research.
• First woman and black person to chair the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
• First woman to be appointed to the Board of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
• First woman and first black Chairperson of the Board of Sentech (Ltd).
• First female Premier of the Free State Provincial government (1996 - 1999).
• Former member of Council, University of Durban-Westville.
• Former member of the Working Group of the National Forum on Science and Technology (NSTF).
• Former member of the Board of Governors of International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
• Former Chairperson of the Ministerial Oversight Committee of African Ministries (1999 - 2003).
• Former Patron of Shoprite/Checkers SABC Woman of the Year Award.
• Former Patron of the Maokeng Community Developement Trust.

Awards/Decorations/Presentations/Bursaries

• Honoured with a Doctorate in Law from the Rutgers University.