South African Freedom Fighters
Some pioneers of South Africa's liberation struggle (Sourced from Wikipedia and South African History Online)
- Ronnie Kasrils was a founding member of Umkhonto we Sizwe and Former Minister of Intelligence. He served on the African National Congress's Politico-Military Council and worked underground for the African National Congress in South Africa during Operation Vula. He also previously served as Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry and Deputy Minister of Defence.
1938-11-15 – present
- Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is the Chairperson of the African Union. She was the South African Minister of the Department of Home Affairs. She is a Member of the African National Congress National Executive Committee and National Working Committee. She is also a Member of the African National Congress Women's League National Executive Committee and the National Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa. Dlamini-Zuma was married to President Jacob Zuma from 1972 to 1998.
1949-01-27 – present
- Desmond Tutu is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. In 1984, Tutu became the second South African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Tutu was the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa). Tutu chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and is currently the chairman of The Elders. Tutu is vocal in his defence of human rights and uses his high profile to campaign for the oppressed. Archbishop Desmond Tutu announced his retirement from public life in July 2010.
1931-10-07 – present
- Nelson Mandela was the first South African president of a truly democratic South Africa. He was elected president in 1994, in South Africa's first democratic vote, and served until 1999. Prior to becoming president, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist: the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the ANC and both Transvaal president of the ANC and deputy national president. In 1952 Mandela and Oliver Tambo opened the first black legal firm in the country. Mandela served 27 years in prison, some of which were on Robben Island, after being convicted of “plotting to destroy the South African state by sabotage” at the now famous Rivonia trial . He was released from prison on 11 February 1990. Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades, most notably the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. His birthday has been named Mandela Day in his honour, with the United Nations General Assembly observing the first ever annual 'Nelson Mandela Day' on Sunday, 18 July 2010. In 2011, a book about Nelson Mandela entitled Nelson Mandela by Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations, was released.
1918-07-18 – present
- Chris Hani was a South African Anti-Apartheid Hero. He was a defiant freedom-fighter. He joined the ANC Youth League 1957 and was active in the Eastern and Western Cape regions before leaving South Africa in 1962 for exile in Lesotho. He returned to South Africa, following the unbanning of the African National Congress in 1990, and took over from Joe Slovo as head of the South African Communist Party in 1991. He was also an ANC NEC Member and Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Chris Hani was assassinated on 10 April 1993 outside his home in Dawn Park, East Rand. Since then, Haniville, outside Pietermaritzburg, Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg and Chris Hani District have been named in his honour.
1942-06-28 - 1993-04-10
- Govan Mbeki was a South African politician and father of Former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki. He was a leader of the ANC and as such was imprisoned on Robben Island from 1964 to 1987. After his release, he served as Deputy President of the Senate and received international recognition for his political achievements.
1910-07-09 - 2001-09-30
- Joe Slovo South African politician. He is a former Minister of the Department of Housing. Slovo was also a Leader of the Government of National Unity and a Member of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and the South African Communist Party. In 1955, he became the first white member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC. An informal settlement in Langa, Cape Town is called Joe Slovo to honour the Anti-Apartheid activist.
1926-05-23 - 1995-01-06
- Oliver Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician. He is known for his role as a central figure in the African National Congress. Tambo served as the President of the African National Congress. He passed away on 23 April 1993.
27-10-1917 - 1993-04-24
- Steve Biko is a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. In March 1973, at the height of apartheid, he was banned ot King Williams Town. Biko has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement since his death in police custody on 12 September 1977.
1946-12-18 - 1977-09-12
- Yusuf Dadoo was a Muslim Indian South African communist and anti-apartheid activist. He served as the National Chairman of the South African Communist Party as well as the Vice-Chair of the Revolutionary Council of the African National Congress. He was a Member of the Joint Planning Council (Defiance of Unjust laws campaign).
1909-09-05 - 1983-09-19
