Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
Dr. Naledi Pandor is a South African politician, educator and academic serving as the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation since 2019. She has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the African National Congress (ANC) since 1994. Pandor took office as a Member of Parliament in 1994. She soon became Deputy Chief Whip of the ANC caucus in 1995. She was elected Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in 1998 and became chairperson in 1999. She initially became a member of the national cabinet in 2004, following President Thabo Mbeki’s decision to appoint her as Minister of Education. She retained her post in the cabinet of Kgalema Motlanthe. Newly elected President Jacob Zuma named her Minister of Science and Technology in 2009.
She served in the position until her appointment as Minister of Home Affairs in 2012. She returned to the post of Minister of Science and Technology in 2014 and held it until 2018, when she became Minister of Higher Education and Training in the first cabinet of President Cyril Ramaphosa. After the 2019 general election she was appointed Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.