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Sankie Dolly Mthembi-Mahanyele (née Mthembi; born 23 March 1951), formerly known as Sankie Mthembi-Nkondo or Sankie Nkondo, is a South African politician, diplomat, and former anti-apartheid activist. She was the Minister of Housing from 1995 to 2003 and served as Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) from 2002 to 2007.
Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Secretary General of the African National Congress | |
| In office December 2002 – December 2007 | |
| President | Thabo Mbeki |
| Secretary | Kgalema Motlanthe |
| Preceded by | Thenjiwe Mtintso |
| Succeeded by | Thandi Modise |
| Minister of Housing | |
| In office 1995–2003 | |
| President | Nelson Mandela Thabo Mbeki |
| Preceded by | Joe Slovo |
| Succeeded by | Brigitte Mabandla |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sankie Dolly Mthembi 23 March 1951 Sophiatown, Johannesburg Transvaal, Union of South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Winston Nkondo (divorced) Mohale Mahanyele
(m. 1996; died 2012) |
| Children | Nare |
| Alma mater | University of the North |
Mthembi-Mahanyele was born on 23 March 1951[1] in Sophiatown in Johannesburg.[2] She matriculated at Sekane-Ntoane High School in Soweto in 1970 and then attended the politically tumultuous University of the North, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1976.[2]
After graduating, Mthembi-Mahanyele went into exile abroad with the African National Congress (ANC), which was then based in Lusaka, Zambia. She was a journalist on Radio Freedom and worked under Thabo Mbeki in the ANC's department of international affairs.[3] During this period (and thereafter),[4] she wrote literature under the pseudonym Rebecca Matlou.[5][3]
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Government
After the end of apartheid in 1994, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Welfare in the South African government, under President Nelson Mandela.[3] She stood for election as the ANC's Deputy Secretary-General at the ANC's 49th National Conference in December 1994, but – although she was believed to have the support of Mandela, Mbeki, and Jacob Zuma – lost "decisively" to the more left-wing candidate, Cheryl Carolus.[3]
Following the death of Joe Slovo, she was Minister of Housing from early 1995 to early 2003, serving under both Mandela and his successor, Mbeki.[6] In 1999, she sued the Mail & Guardian for defamation, in connection to the newspaper's claim in December 1998 that Mthembi-Mahanyele had awarded a housing contract to a friend; the Supreme Court of Appeal ultimately agreed with the Johannesburg High Court that the report did not amount to defamation.[7][8] In 2003, she won an award from United Nations Habitat for her work in the housing portfolio.[9]
Later career
Mthembi-Mahanyele's resignation from the cabinet followed her election as Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC at the party's 51st National Conference in December 2002.[10] She served in that position until the 52nd National Conference in December 2007, when she did not stand for re-election. In later years, she served as chairman of South Africa's Central Energy Fund from February 2012 until her resignation in 2015.[11][12] She was South Africa's Ambassador to Switzerland from 2018 until 2022,[13] when she was appointed Ambassador to Spain.
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While in exile, Mthembi-Mahanyele was married to Zinjiva Winston Nkondo and was known as Sankie Mthembi-Nkondo. Nkondo was also an ANC activist and writer (under the pseudonym Victor Matlou);[5] they divorced.[3] In 1996, Mthembi-Mahanyele married Mohale Mahanyele (born 1939, died 2012), a businessman.[14] They had one daughter, Nare, together.[15]
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