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Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma becomes first woman to chair African Union
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma., the new Chairperson of the African Union. PHOTO/File
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, a veteran of the fight against apartheid who has served in the cabinet of every South African president since Nelson Mandela, now takes the top African Union job.
Elected by the 54-member pan-African bloc in Ethiopia on Sunday, she becomes the first woman to head the African Union Commission.
An experienced diplomat, Dlamini-Zuma, 63, is known for her competent management and stern personality.
A doctor by training, she was health minister when Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black leader.
She went on to be foreign minister for a decade, earning praise for her shuttle diplomacy to end the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But her critics found fault with her “quiet diplomacy” towards neighbor Zimbabwe, during a crisis that saw President Robert Mugabe evict thousands of white farmers from their land in 2000.
Current South Africa President, Jacob Zuma named her interior minister.
