African National Congress President Jacob Zuma will be the nominee of the ANC for the position of President of South Africa in the National Assembly on Wednesday, 6 May 2009. He will be inaugurated on Saturday 9 May at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
It has been a long road for Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, born in 1942 in Inkandla, KwaZulu Natal to Gcinamazwi and Nokubhekisisa Zuma.
His father gave all his children names that expressed his mood and feelings during the period of their birth.
Writing in his autobiography, which is expected to be published before the end of 2009, Zuma says: "For reasons only known to him, and it's a story we never got to know, he said in Zulu: "Ngeke ngithule umuntu engigedla engihlekisa!" (I will not keep quiet when a person pretends to like me when he doesn't). Thus Joseph's name is Ngekengithule and mine Gedleyihlekisa, with the name given to me by my mother being Mhlanganyelwa. It perhaps all makes sense now, for the literal meaning of the name is when people conspire or gang up against you!"
Zuma is a leader with outstanding qualities. He is renowned for his legendary patience and his listening, consensus-seeking and conflict prevention skills.
He is respected for his ability to make all individuals who touch his life feel valued and important. He motivates people and enables them to realise their potential and contribute to the country and the organisation.
A consummate political strategist, Zuma faces the task of taking South Africa forward in the next phase of its freedom, during which we need to enhance service delivery and improve government performance. He will need to lead the country in ensuring that the policies developed over the past 15 years meaningfully improve the lives of the poor.
Early political consciousness and activism
Influenced by a trade unionist family member, he became involved in politics at an early age, joining the ANC in 1958. He became an active member of the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, in 1962, following the banning of the ANC in 1960.
While on his way out of the country in 1963, he was arrested with a group of 52 recruits near Zeerust, and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, which he served on Robben Island. After his release, Zuma helped mobilise internal resistance and was instrumental in the re-establishment of ANC underground structures in the then Natal between 1974 and 1975.
He left South Africa in December 1975 and for the next 12 years was based in Southern Africa, first in Swaziland and then Mozambique. During this period he was involved in underground work with former President Thabo Mbeki and others, giving leadership to ANC structures operating inside South Africa.
He also dealt with the thousands of young exiles that poured out of South Africa in the wake of the Soweto uprising in June 1976. He became a member of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) in 1977. By the end of the 1980s he was head of the ANC Intelligence Department. He became widely known is this critical position at a time when the ANC had the difficult task of protecting the organisation from infiltration and to ensure its survival.
Return from exile
Following the unbanning of the ANC in February 1990, he was one of the first ANC leaders to return to South Africa to begin the process of negotiations with the then apartheid regime. Like other leaders involved in talks he had to convince the ANC membership and support base of the need to negotiate with an apartheid regime that was intent on maintaining its power and influence.
He was instrumental in organising the Groote-Schuur Minute between the De Klerk government and the ANC that reached important decisions about the return of exiles and the release of political prisoners.
His strategic thinking and conflict resolution skills played a pivotal role in ending conflict in KwaZulu Natal and the then PWV region, where state-sponsored violence was tearing communities apart.
In 1991, at the first ANC conference held in South Africa since 1959, he was elected Deputy Secretary General.
After the 1994 elections, Zuma requested to be deployed to KwaZulu Natal to work to cement peace between the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
He joined the provincial government as MEC of Economic Affairs and Tourism. He played an instrumental role in normalising relations within the multiparty government of the ANC and IFP.
As MEC Zuma worked hard to develop the tourism industry in the province and was highly regarded by the sector. He created a good working relationship between business and labour, and worked tirelessly to facilitate new investments into the KwaZulu Natal economy.
In December 1994, he was elected ANC National Chairperson. An exception was made in the ANC Constitution to allow him to serve as both provincial chairperson and National Chairperson. The 'Zuma clause', as the constitutional amendment was popularly known, was made in recognition of his outstanding leadership qualities.
Deputy President of the Republic
Zuma was elected ANC Deputy President in December 1997. He served as Deputy President of South Africa from 1999 until June 2005.
During his tenure he distinguished himself in his role as mediator and facilitator of peace on the continent, especially in Burundi. He managed to secure several agreements, which led to elections and the installation of a democratic and legitimate government in Burundi. The Burundi peace facilitation took two intensive years of hard work. He was patient, resilient and very thorough, listening to all rebel groups and the government of Burundi, ensuring that all felt their views and role was unimportant.
He also assisted in securing peace agreements in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including an agreement between Rwanda and the DRC. Given his undying passion for conflict resolution, he is expected to take forward his interest in promoting reconstruction and development in former conflict areas to enable peace to hold.
As Deputy President he also worked hard to promote nation building and smooth relations between all South Africans. As Leader of Government Business, he worked to ensure good working relations between government and political parties in Parliament, and between Parliament and the Executive.
He kick-started the process of promoting positive values through the launch of the Moral Regeneration Movement. The purpose was to galvanise government and civil society around a campaign to promote values such as respect for the sanctity of human life, for the next person, private property, to deal with the disregard for the law of the land, lack of parental control over children, and the general blurring of the lines between right and wrong.
Passion for education and rural development
Born and bred in the countryside, Zuma has a passion for rural development. It is his wish that his Presidency should result in a huge difference in the lives of people residing in rural areas, with faster delivery of water, electricity, quality education, health facilities and income generating activities.
The ANC's decision to prioritise education has his personal stamp to it. Not one to be defeated by adversity, he established an informal school in his village. He educated himself as his father had died and his mother could not afford to pay for formal schooling for him.
How exactly he educated himself remains unknown to most South Africans. He talks about the night school he established, in the autobiography that he is still working on: "My brother Joseph also wanted to be part of this self-education, informal education. We eventually started with more than half a dozen others. The minute we started, word spread like wildfire, we also instantly became ambassadors and sellers of our school, as we did our homework during herding. For those reasons, we did Zulu, arithmetic and a little English. We even did a little bit of dramatic sketches and cultural activities. I was the pioneer of the school and used to extol its virtues so much that even those who attended formal school would join us in the evening for more classes. Here we earnestly learnt to read and write in Zulu. We would also read and write letters for our parents and mothers whose husbands were writing from the mines in Johannesburg. I remember reading Ilanga laseNatali, as well as the weekly uMafrika and Bona magazine. Amazingly, Bona had Zulu and English editions, same stories, same layout, same everything except languages. You have no idea how this facilitated my learning especially the English language. I had begun, when in Durban, foraging into the Mercury newspaper as well. These were truly wonderful self-education times."
Because of these experiences, Zuma resolved to work tirelessly to provide education for underprivileged children. In 1998 he established the Jacob Zuma RDP Educational Trust Fund, out of a R500,000 seed capital which had been given to him, as MEC for Economic Affairs and Tourism in KZN, to support any RDP project of his choice.
The fund has educated more than 20,000 children at primary school level to university. Beneficiaries are primarily from impoverished backgrounds in rural areas. The ANC decision to expand no-fee schools will assist hundreds of children who depend on the Trust. Zuma is Chancellor of the University of Zululand, another example of his passion for education.
Persecution and trial by media
Zuma has gone through a difficult period, facing accusations of corruption, during which he faced an ongoing trial by media. Over the course of eight years, his rights, privacy and dignity were repeatedly violations. The accusations arose out of his relationship with friend and comrade, Schabir Shaik, who was his financial adviser.
This relationship has been frequently misrepresented. The plight of returning exiles forced them to seek financial support from friends and relatives. In the case of Shaik, Zuma solicited a loan with an undertaking to repay, which Zuma has started to do. Despite the fact that Zuma had no involvement in the arms deal, and had no power to "protect" companies involved in the deal, prosecutors tried to link the loan to the arms deal.
Zuma has consistently maintained his innocence, and has insisted that the charges were politically motivated. Throughout the process, he has offered his fullest cooperation with the investigation, has always submitted himself to due legal process, and has sought to protect his rights through whatever legal remedies he has considered appropriate.
Following a startling discovery of telephone transcripts confirming that the case against him was fatally tainted by political interference, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped the charges, lifting a load that had taken a heavy toll on the Zuma family.
Forged in adversity
From growing up in a poor family to surviving the apartheid police and exile, to the eight years of being pursued by prosecutors, Zuma's life has been characterised by adversity.
He has prevailed by maintaining a positive outlook, an inner strength and the ability to remain focused on doing what he believes is right.
"I am tempted to say that almost every stage of my life has been a test of character, of strength, skill and later leadership. Almost all of these challenges have made me into a stronger person. I have never failed to learn from my mistakes, nor repeat them, nor pretend I never committed them in the first place. I am made of sterner stuff, even if I say so myself. I am tempted to say I know no man alive who has witnessed the struggles that I have survived. They may have come close but not what I have gone through, since I was born,'' he writes.
He was elected ANC President in December 2007, becoming the ANC's candidate for South African president in the 2009 elections.
His wishes: "The unity of all South Africans black and white, better quality education and health care, safer communities with less crime, more decent jobs and well-developed rural areas, a better Africa and a better world."
Personal
Zuma is married to Sizakele (MaKhumalo), Nompumelelo (MaNtuli) and Tobeka Madiba. He has 19 children, to whom he is very close.
He loves sports especially soccer and rugby and was a keen soccer player in his youth. He dabbled in ballroom dancing on Robben Island. South Africans know and love him for his prowess on the dance floor and his impeccable vocal chords.
Awards, Decorations and Bursaries
- Honoured with the Nelson Mandela Award for Outstanding Leadership in Washington DC, US (1998)
- Received an Honorary Doctorate of Literature from the University of Fort Hare (2001).
- Received an Honorary Doctorate of Administration from the University of Zululand (2001).
- Received an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from Medical University of Southern Africa (2001).
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of the North (2001).