Kgaogelo Lekgoro
Mpetjane Kgaogelo Lekgoro (born 11 October 1957) is a South African politician and diplomat. Before his first appointment as South African Ambassador in 2013, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in Parliament from 1994 to 2006 and as a Member of the Gauteng Executive Council from 2006 to 2010.
Kgaogelo Lekgoro | |
---|---|
Member of the Gauteng Executive Council for Local Government and Housing | |
In office May 2009 – November 2010 | |
Premier | Nomvula Mokonyane |
Preceded by |
|
Succeeded by | Humphrey Mmemezi |
Member of the Gauteng Executive Council for Social Development | |
In office March 2006 – May 2009 | |
Preceded by | Bob Mabaso |
Succeeded by | Qedani Mahlangu (for Health and Social Development) |
Personal details | |
Born | 11 October 1957 |
Citizenship | South Africa |
Political party | African National Congress |
Life and career
Lekgoro was born on 11 October 1957.[1] During apartheid, he was a member of the United Democratic Front in the PWV region that later became Gauteng province.[2] In the early 1990s, he was a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC Youth League.[2]
He was a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2006 and from 2003[2] he chaired the National Assembly's Portfolio Committee on Communications.[3] On 23 March 2006, Mbhazima Shilowa, then the Premier of Gauteng, appointed him as Gauteng's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development; he succeeded Bob Mabaso, who had vacated the position earlier in 2006 amid a sexual harassment scandal.[3] By that time he was also a member of the ANC's Provincial Executive Committee in Gauteng.[3]
He served as MEC for Social Development until 2009, throughout the rest of Shilowa's term and the brief tenure of Shilowa's successor, Paul Mashatile.[4] On 8 May 2009, pursuant to the 2009 general election, newly elected Premier Nomvula Mokonyane announced that Lekgoro would be MEC for Local Government and Housing in her new Executive Council.[5][6] However, in a cabinet reshuffle announced on 2 November 2010, Mokonyane removed him from the Executive Council, appointing him instead as the head of the Gauteng Planning Commission in the Premier's office.[7]
In 2013, President Jacob Zuma appointed Lekgoro to his first diplomatic posting as South Africa's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.[8] He later served as the Ambassador to Vietnam.[9]
References
- "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- "New Chairperson for the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications". National Association of Broadcasters. 3 July 2003. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- "New MECs upbeat about working in Gauteng". IOL. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- "Paul Mashatile's inauguration address". Politicsweb. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- "Gauteng Department of Community Safety welcomes new MEC: Elias Khabisi Mosunkutu | South African Government". South African Government. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- "Mokonyane sticks to gender promise". City of Johannesburg. 11 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- "Premier Nomvula Mokonyane announces new Gauteng Cabinet". South African Government. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- Mustafa, Awad (30 July 2013). "UAE and South Africa to discuss visa-free travel for citizens". The National. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- "Immigration visa row in Vietnam". The Mail & Guardian. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2023.