Ashor Sarupen
Ashor Sarupen (born 1 July 1988) is a South African politician who serves as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the Democratic Alliance (DA), after having taken office on 22 May 2019. He is a representative of the party on both the Standing Committee on Appropriations and the Standing Committee on Finance. He also served as Chief of Staff to DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille, and presently serves as her Parliamentary Counsellor. He previously served as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 2014 to 2019 and before that, he was the Democratic Alliance Chief Whip and City Councillor in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality from 2011 to 2014. [1]
Ashor Sarupen | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance Federal Council | |
| Assumed office 27 November 2020 | |
| Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of South Africa | |
| Assumed office 22 May 2019 | |
| Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature | |
| In office 21 May 2014 – 7 May 2019 | |
| Parliamentary Counsellor to DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille | |
| Assumed office 1 February 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Position Created |
| Chief of Staff to DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille | |
| In office 22 October 2019 – 31 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Elsabe Oosthuizen |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas Gotsell |
| Opposition Chief Whip of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality City Council | |
| In office 18 March 2011 – 7 May 2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ashor Sarupen 1 July 1988 Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Political party | Democratic Alliance (2007–present) |
| Alma mater | University of the Witwatersrand |
| Occupation | Member of Parliament |
| Profession | Politician |
| Committees | Standing Committee on Appropriations Standing Committee on Finance |
Biography
Sarupen was born in Pietermaritzburg in the former Natal Province. His family soon moved to Springs. He studied at the University of the Witwatersrand where he obtained a BSc Honours Degree and then a Masters in Business Administration.[1]
Sarupen identifies as an economic liberal and joined the DA in 2007. He started his career as a research analyst with the party in 2009. He was elected to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality Council centred around the East Rand in 2011 and was appointed the party's Chief Whip. He was elected to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in May 2014 and became the party's Spokesperson on Finance. He was a strategist for the DA's 2014 national election campaign in Gauteng, and fulfilled a similar role in 2019, and subsequently ran the DA's 2016 campaign in Ekurhuleni for the local government elections. He became an MP after the May 2019 general elections.[1] He was appointed the party's spokesperson on the Standing Committee on Appropriations. [2] In October 2019, he ran Helen Zille's campaign as DA Federal Council Chairperson.[3] She subsequently won the election.
During the DA's 2020 Federal Congress, delegates voted to add a third deputy chairperson to the Federal Council, the party's second-highest decision-making body. Sarupen was elected in a special election on 27 November 2020 with 73% of the vote. He serves alongside James Masango and Thomas Walters.[4]
References
- "Former resident sworn in at Parliament". Greytown Gazette - News24. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- Gerber, Jan (5 June 2019). "Here's the DA's 'shadow cabinet'". News24. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- @helenzille (21 October 2019). "Thanks, so much @AshorSarupen for running my campaign so extraordinarily competently and strategically. You did it, pal" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- @Our_DA (27 November 2020). "Congratulations to @AshorSarupen on your election as the new Deputy Chairperson of the #DAFederalCouncil!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.