John Steenhuisen

Steenhuisen was born in Durban and matriculated from Northwood Boys' High School, an English-medium high school in Durban, in 1993.[2] He went on to study political science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, but never obtained a university degree.[3] He once told Parliament that he had enrolled for a bachelor's degree in politics and law at the University of South Africa in 1994, but he could not finish the course due to work and financial circumstances.[4][5]

Steenhuisen started as an ordinary Democratic Party (predecessor to the Democratic Alliance) activist before he became a branch member.[6]

In 1999, at the age of 22, Steenhuisen was elected to the then Durban City Council as the councillor for Durban North. He was the youngest municipal councillor at that time. After the 2000 municipal election, the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality was formed. He continued to serve as an ordinary councillor until his appointment as the DA's caucus leader in 2006. In that same year, he was assigned to serve on the city's Executive Committee.[7][6]

Winston Rabotapi and Steenhuisen in 2011

Steenhuisen was elected to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature in the 2009 general election. The incoming DA caucus elected him as leader, replacing party veteran Roger Burrows.[8] At the inaugural sitting, he challenged Zweli Mkhize of the African National Congress for the post of premier, but lost after he received 7 votes compared to Mkhize's 68 votes.[9]

He was elected as the KwaZulu-Natal provincial leader of the Democratic Alliance at the party's Provincial Congress held later that same year. Steenhuisen held this position until 24 October 2010, after he announced on 18 October his intention to resign amid the disclosure of an extramarital affair. Steenhuisen continued to serve as an MPL and the DA's caucus leader until his move to the National Assembly.[6][10][11]

Steenhuisen joined the National Assembly on 19 July 2011 by replacing Mark Steele, a DA MP who, in turn, assumed Steenhuisen's seat in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.[6] In February 2012, Steenhuisen was appointed by Lindiwe Mazibuko as Shadow Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.[12] He is currently a member of the Rules Committee. He had previously served as a member of the Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management.[13]

In 2012, he declared his candidacy for deputy chairperson of the DA Federal Council.[14] He lost to Thomas Walters at the party's Federal Congress.[15]

Steenhuisen was appointed as chief whip of the DA parliamentary caucus by Mmusi Maimane on 29 May 2014.[16] He was reappointed to the post in May 2019.[17]

Steenhuisen is known for his oratory skills and has delivered many speeches to Parliament that have been noted for their wit and incisive criticism of African National Congress (ANC) leadership, including previous South African President Jacob Zuma.[18][19]

Mmusi Maimane resigned as both Federal Leader and Parliamentary Leader of the DA in October 2019, causing Steenhuisen to lose the title of chief whip. Steenhuisen's deputy, Jacques Julius, then served as acting chief whip.[20] Steenhuisen declared his candidacy to succeed Maimane as parliamentary leader and was elected unopposed on 27 October 2019.[21][22] He formally announced on 28 October that he would run for federal leader of the party.[23][24] Steenhuisen appointed Natasha Mazzone as the new chief whip of the DA parliamentary caucus on 31 October.[25] He was elected interim leader of the party on 17 November, defeating Gauteng MPL Makashule Gana.[26]

In the early days of Steenhuisen's leadership, the party lost control of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in December 2019.[27] In August 2016, then-DA leader Maimane formed an informal alliance with the Economic Freedom Fighters to secure control of several hung municipalities, including Johannesburg with Herman Mashaba of the DA as the city's mayor.[28] Mashaba resigned as mayor in October 2019 and left office in November.[29] A vacancy was therefore created. DA Federal Council chair Helen Zille and Steenhuisen both opposed a coalition agreement with the EFF.[30] On 4 December, the ANC regained control of the city of Johannesburg.[31] Previous DA coalition partners and a few DA councillors voted for the ANC candidate, Geoff Makhubo.[32]

On 15 February 2020, he declared his intention to seek a full-term as Federal Leader of the DA at the Hellenic Community Centre in Mouille Point, Cape Town. Several public representatives attended the launch of his campaign, including Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, the head of the party's governance unit, James Selfe, Shadow Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Glynnis Breytenbach, and DA chief whip in the National Assembly, Mazzone.[33][34][35] The party was scheduled to elect its new leadership at its Federal Congress in May 2020 but this was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[36] Consequently, Steenhuisen suspended all campaign activities.[37]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the DA launched a coronavirus information channel.[38] On 8 May 2020, Steenhuisen delivered a speech in which he called for the national lockdown to be ended. Steenhuisen called the lockdown “destructive” and said, “there is no longer a justification to keep this hard lockdown in place.” He also said that the DA had written to the International Monetary Fund and filed a PAIA complaint to obtain the minutes of the National Command Council's decision to retain the tobacco ban.[39][40][41]

Also in May 2020, the DA's Federal Council, the second-highest decision-making body, resolved to hold the conference virtually between 31 October and 1 November,[42] a move which some critics denounced as being favourable to Steenhuisen's campaign, as he has a public profile and access to party structures, giving him an advantage.[43] He faced KwaZulu-Natal MPL Mbali Ntuli for the position. As the campaign progressed, he received endorsements from prominent party members, including Western Cape provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela and interim federal chairperson Ivan Meyer.[44] On 1 November 2020, Steenhuisen was announced as the new leader of the party.[45]

On 5 December 2020, Steenhuisen announced his Shadow Cabinet.[46] The majority of the positions remained unchanged, with Geordin Hill-Lewis remaining at Finance, Andrew Whitfield at Police and Siviwe Gwarube at Health. He removed Phumzile van Damme as Shadow Minister of Communications and replaced her with Zakhele Mbhele. He also granted Van Damme a sabbatical until March 2021.[47] She subsequently accused Steenhuisen of trying to sideline her and said that she intended on opposing the move.[48] The DA disputed Van Damme's accusation.[49]

He currently resides in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal and is a supporter of the Sharks rugby union team and AmaZulu F.C. football club.[7] Steenhuisen was married for 10 years to Julie Steenhuisen (née Wright), a fellow Durban native. They were divorced in October 2010, amid public revelations of his ongoing affair with Terry Kass Beaumont, the DA's provincial spokesperson and wife of Michael Beaumont, the DA's provincial director.[50] Steenhuisen has two daughters from his first marriage.[51] He is now married to Terry, and they have a daughter together. He is fluent in both English and Afrikaans.[52]

• John Steenhuisen at People's Assembly
• Mr John Henry Steenhuisen – Parliament of South Africa
• John Steenhuisen Federal Leader – Democratic Alliance