Name Bheki Joshua Siblings Pius Langa | Role Diplomat | |
Bheki Winston Joshua Langa (born in Stengo, 1952) is a South African diplomat and administrator. He is currently head of the domestic branch of the State Security Agency (SSA). He was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Africa to China from 2010 to 2015 and Ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2010.
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Career
He served as South Africa's Ambassador to Russia from 2005 until 2010. He was then posted to China as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Africa to China until 2015. In August 2015 he was appointed head of the domestic branch of the State Security Agency (SSA).
Education and personal life
Langa is the youngest of seven children and brother to the late former Chief Justice of South Africa Pius Langa. His father was a priest, Pastor Simon Peter Langa. He went into exile in around 1976 and studied for a master's degree in Economics (MSc) at the University of Manchester and a PhD in Economics at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow. He also holds an MA in Social and Development studies from the University of Manchester and a Post Graduate Diploma in Quantitative Development Economics from the University of Warwick.
Notable comments
After the passing of Nelson Mandela in December 2013 Langa compared his country's late iconic figure to Mao Zedong, saying Mandela and Mao "were both very strong leaders who fought for the liberation of their people, and who also contributed to laying the foundation for further development in society."
When he served as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Africa to China, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the proposed new Public Protector, worked in the embassy. He has refuted claims that she served as a spy for the State Security Agency: "I can confirm without any fear of contradiction that advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane was employed as counsellor for the department of home affairs at the South African embassy and was never in the employ, nor performed any assignment for, the State Security Agency throughout her period of service in China."