President Thabo Mbeki Succeeded by Winkie Direko Preceded by Jay Naidoo Name Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri | Succeeded by Siphiwe Nyanda Role South African Politician Preceded by Mosiuoa Lekota Party African National Congress | |
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Born 18 September 1937
Kroonstad ( 1937-09-18 ) Political party African National Congress Died April 6, 2009, Pretoria, South Africa Education University of Fort Hare, Rutgers University Similar People Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, John Langalibalele Dube, Sol Plaatje, Pixley ka Isaka Seme | ||
Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri (18 September 1937 – 6 April 2009) was a South African politician. She was South Africa's Minister of Communications from 1999 until her death. She served briefly as South Africa's acting president in 2005, when both President Thabo Mbeki and the Deputy President were outside the country. Furthermore, she was chosen by the cabinet to be the constitutional and official head of state in an interim capacity for 14 hours from 24 until 25 September 2008, between the resignation of Thabo Mbeki and the taking of office by Kgalema Motlanthe. She was the first and to date only woman to have held the post of President in South Africa and the first woman to be head of state of South Africa since Elizabeth II's reign as Queen of South Africa in 1961.
Matsepe-Casaburri was born in Kroonstad in the then Orange Free State province and completed her school career in the Natal Province. She then went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts degree from Fort Hare University before accepting a teaching position in Natal.
Shortly afterwards Matsepe-Casaburri went into exile; she spent time in Swaziland, Zambia, the United States of America and Namibia before returning home in 1990. While in the United States she obtained her Ph.D. in Sociology from Rutgers University.
In 1993 Matsepe-Casaburri was appointed as chairperson of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. She was the first woman and first Black person to hold this position. In 1997 she resigned from this job in order to succeed Mosiuoa Lekota as Premier of the Free State Province. She was also the first woman to hold the position of a premier in South Africa.
Matsepe-Casaburri was appointed as Minister of Communications in June 1999.