Jessie Duarte

Jessie Yasmin Duarte (born 19 September 1953) is a South African politician and deputy secretary-general of the African National Congress. A long time anti-apartheid activist, she has served variously as a special assistant to Nelson Mandela, a member of the provincial cabinet (MEC) for Gauteng, as ambassador to Mozambique and as spokesperson for the ANC, before assuming her current post as Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC in 2012.

Jessie Duarte
Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress
Assumed office
18 December 2012
PresidentJacob Zuma
Cyril Ramaphosa
Secretary-GeneralGwede Mantashe
Ace Magashule
Preceded byThandi Modise
Personal details
Born (1953-09-19) 19 September 1953
Coronationville, Gauteng, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
Political partyAfrican National Congress

In 2009 she featured in the news for two recorded diatribes launched against journalists Philani Nombembe of The Sunday Times[1] and John Humphrys of BBC Radio.[2]

In 2014, Duarte publicly compared Israel's alleged actions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to that of Nazi Germany.[3] This drew strong rebukes from Jewish groups within South Africa.[4]

On 7 January 2021, Duarte announced that she would be retiring as deputy secretary-general of the ANC at the party's next conference in 2022.[5]

Family

Duarte is the sister of Achmat Dangor.[6]

References
  1. "The Times". Archived from the original on 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  2. "South Africa prepares for vote". April 17, 2009 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  3. "ANC: Statement by Jessie Duarte, ANC Deputy Secretary General, on the situation in the Gaza Strip (10/07/2014)". Polity.org.za.
  4. "ANC comparison of Israel to Nazis riles South African Jews". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.
  5. du Plessis, Carien (7 January 2021). "Jessie Duarte to retire in 2 years' time, says she is looking forward to 'writing books'". News24. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  6. "Tributes pour in for author, political activist Achmat Dangor". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
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