About this site

This resource is hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, but was compiled and authored by Padraig O’Malley. It is the product of almost two decades of research and includes analyses, chronologies, historical documents, and interviews from the apartheid and post-apartheid eras.

Pahad, Essop

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Pahad was born on 21 June 1939. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Witwatersrand, a Master of Arts degree in African Politics and a PhD in History from Sussex University.

He is currently the Minister in The Presidency, Republic of South Africa.

He has held the following posts:

Ø. Member of the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress (TIYC) Executive Committee, also as Secretary (1958 - 1964).

Ø. After the banning of African National Congress (ANC) he was part of TIYC volunteers, producing and distributing ANC pamphlets and posters (1960 - 1963).

Ø. Member of the TIYC Executive Committee (1962 - 1964).

Ø. Active in student politics at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Ø. Arrested and imprisoned for two weeks, later charged with organising an 'illegal strike'; found not guilty (1962 - 1963).

Ø. Banned for five years and went into exile (December 1964).

Ø. In exile served on leadership structures of ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP). During this period he also graduated from the Institute of Social Science in Moscow, Russia, and completed a short military course in Angola.

Ø. Represented the SACP on the Editorial Council of the World Marxist Review (1975 - 1985).

Ø. Served on the regional command of the ANC's Political and Military Council in London, before returning to South Africa in 1990.

Ø. Parliamentary Counsellor to the Executive Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa (May 1994 - July 1996).

Ø. Deputy Minister in the Office of the former Executive Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki (August 1996 - 16 June 1999).

Ø. Member of Central Committee and Political Bureau of the SACP (until July 2002).

Ø. Member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of ANC. (current).

Ø. Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the South African Democracy Education Trust. (current)

Pahad has written numerous articles for the media, and delivered lectures on various occasions, including inaugural lecture in Chatham House series on South Africa's International Political Strategy, October 2003; and public lecture at Sussex University marking SA's ten years of democracy, 26 October, 2004.

Picture: Courtesy of Rapport.

This resource is hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, but was compiled and authored by Padraig O’Malley. Return to theThis resource is hosted by the site.