Rapulane Sydney Molekane (born 7 May 1961) is a South African diplomat, politician, and former anti-apartheid activist. He has been South African Ambassador to Austria since 2019. In that capacity, he also has non-resident accreditation to Slovenia and Slovakia and serves as South Africa's permanent representative to various international organisations in Vienna.
Rapu Molekane | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Molekane at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, 2024 | |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office May 1994 – June 1999 | |
| Secretary-General of the African National Congress Youth League | |
| In office 1990–1994 | |
| President | Peter Mokaba |
| Preceded by | Position re-established |
| Succeeded by | Mpho Lekgoro |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rapulane Sydney Molekane 7 May 1961 White City, Soweto Transvaal, South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
During apartheid, Molekane rose to political prominence as a leading figure in the students' movement in Soweto. A member of the United Democratic Front, he was president of the Soweto Youth Congress from 1984 to 1985 and founding general-secretary of the South African Youth Congress from 1987 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994, he was secretary-general of the newly relaunched African National Congress (ANC) Youth League under league president Peter Mokaba.
Molekane represented the ANC in the National Assembly during the first democratic Parliament from 1994 to 1999. Since becoming a career diplomat in 1999, he has served as Consul-General in Germany, High Commissioner to Ghana, and Ambassador to France.
Early life and activism
editMolekane was born on 7 May 1961[1] in White City, a neighbourhood of Jabavu in Soweto.[2] His native language is Setswana;[1] his father belonged to the Barolong ba Rapulane of Thaba Nchu in the former Orange Free State but had moved to Johannesburg in his 20s.[2]
After matriculating from Soweto's Mapetla Tswana High School in 1981, Molekane trained as a teacher in Soweto. During this period, he became a prominent figure in the students' movement against apartheid, including as a founding member of the United Democratic Front in 1983.[1] He also served as president of the Soweto Youth Congress from 1984 to 1985,[1] and therefore become centrally involved in the Congress of South African Students (COSAS).[2] In that capacity, he became a friend and colleague of Peter Mokaba, his counterpart in the Mankweng Youth Congress; they were arrested together for their COSAS activities and detained at Johannesburg Prison (Sun City).[2]
At SAYCO's founding conference in March 1987 in Cape Town,[3] Molekane was elected as inaugural general-secretary of SAYCO,[1] serving alongside Mokaba, who was elected as president. In 1990, SAYCO was superseded by the newly relaunched ANC Youth League, and Molekane and Mokaba reprised their roles: he was secretary-general of the league for two terms from 1990 to 1994.[1] In 1992, he was widely viewed as a plausible candidate to challenge Mokaba for the presidency, but he did not ultimately do so.[4]
National Assembly: 1994–1999
editIn South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Molekane was elected to an ANC seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of the new South African Parliament.[5] He chaired Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security.[6] During this period, according to Molekane, he and a handful of other ANC representatives were handpicked by Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo to undergo diplomatic training and become career diplomats.[2]
Diplomatic service: 1999–present
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Molekane left Parliament after the 1999 general election and joined the Department of Foreign Affairs, first as Consul-General to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany from 1999 to 2003.[1] He later served as High Commissioner to Ghana from 2004 to 2008 and as Ambassador to France from 2014 to 2019, with his ambassadorial terms punctuated by stints at the Department of Foreign Affairs, including on the African Union, Middle East, and Europe desks.[1] On 10 July 2019, he presented his credentials as Ambassador to Austria;[7] he also has non-resident accreditation to Slovenia and Slovakia and represents South Africa at international organisations based in Vienna.[1]
Personal life
editHe is married and has four children.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Ambassador Rapulane Sydney Molekane". South African Embassy and Permanent Mission in Vienna. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Selling SA's story to the world from Paris". Sunday Independent. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ Heffernan, Anne (2019). Limpopo's Legacy: Student Politics & Democracy in South Africa. Boydell & Brewer. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-84701-217-3.
- ^ Botiveau, Raphaël (2007). The ANC Youth League, Or the Invention of a South African Youth Political Organisation. IFAS. p. 27.
- ^ South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994. International Republican Institute. 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Yumpu.
- ^ "Leaking another pile of baloney". The Mail & Guardian. 12 June 1998. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Meet the New Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to Austria: H.E. Mr. Rapulane Sydney Molekane". Vindobona. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2023.