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Jacob Zuma
South African president
South Africa, Government & Public Administration
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma
Birth Details:
Date of Birth: 12-04-1942 Place of Birth: Inkandla, KwaZulu-Natal
In Brief
Jacob Zuma was elected President of South Africa in May 2009. President of the African National Congress (ANC) since December 2007. Crowned 'African President of the Year' in 2009. He was influenced by a family member who was a trade unionist and became involved in politics at an early age. He started the process of promoting positive values through the launch of the Moral Regeneration Movement. He was also Chairperson of the South African National Aids Council and Chancellor at the University of Zululand. He has played an important role as mediator and facilitator of peace on the continent especially in Bulundi and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is also patron of the Peace and Reconstruction Foundation as well as the Albert Luthuli Education and Development Foundation.
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- Personal
- Noteworthy
- In The News
Current Position(s)
- President - Republic of South Africa
- (2009 - present)
- President - African National Congress
- (2007 - present)
- Chairman - ANC, South Africa
- (1994 - present)
- Chairman - Southern Natal Region
- (1990 - present)
- Chief - Intelligence Department, ANC Head Office, Lusaka, Zambia
- (1987 - present)
- Member - ANC National Executive Committee
- (1977 - present)
- Member - ANC
- (1958 - present)
- Chairman - South African National Aids Council
- Chairman - ANC Negotiation Commission
- Head - Underground Structures
Previous Position(s)
- Deputy President - South African Government
- (1999 - 2005)
- Member of Parliament - ANC: National Assembly
- (1999 - 2005)
- Deputy President - ANC
- (1997 - 2007)
- Leader - Government Business in the National Assembly
- (1997 - 2005)
- National Chairman - ANC Council
- (1995 - 1997)
- Member of Executive Council - Economic Affairs and Tourism, KZN Provincial Government
- (1994 - 1999)
- Deputy Secretary-General - ANC
- (1991 - 1994)
- Chief Representative - ANC (the year of the signing of the Nkomati Accord between the Mozambican and South African governments), Mozambique
- (1984)
Higher Education
- Honorary degree - University of Medicine of South Africa
- Honorary Doctor of Philosophy (2001)
- Honorary degree - University of Fort Hare
- Honorary Doctor of Literature/Letters (2001)
- Honorary degree - University of Zululand
- Honorary Doctor of Administration (2001)
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Related Products
- Zuma: A Biography
- Author: Jeremy Gordin
- Publication Date: December 2008
- Pages: 324
But of course Zuma has been at the epicentre of South African politics, and his life has spilt almost daily onto the pages of South Africa's newspapers. Often embattled, always controversial, Zuma rose to take control of the ANC in Polokwane last year, unseating President Thabo Mbeki. Now, he appears destined to become the next president of South Africa. In this unauthorised biography, veteran journalist Jeremy Gordin takes the reader beyond the daily and weekly reporting to capture something of the man - his ambitions; the political rollercoaster he has been on; his travails in his quest to be the next president of South Africa. The writer Gordin covers Zuma's early life as a herd boy, his adult life as a member of the ANC, his incarceration on Robben Island, his time in exile, and the transitional years of the early 1990s. But the main focus remains on the last seven or eight years – Zuma's alleged corruption in the Arms Deal, his trial for rape, and his rise to power. This title promises to be immensely readable and, like its subject, highly controversial.