Smangaliso Mkhatshwa

Smangaliso Mkhatshwa ( born June 26, 1939 in Barberton, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa) is a South African priest and politician. From 2000 to 2006 he was Mayor ( Executive Mayor ) of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. Mkhatswhwa is a member of the African National Congress ( ANC).

Mkhatshwa earned his college degree in Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg ). He then studied philosophy (Bachelor) and Theology ( Master) at the University of Leuven in Belgium and was trained Peter's Seminary in Tshwane a Catholic priest in KwaZulu- Natal and the St. He was persecuted politically active opponent of the apartheid regime in South Africa, was arrested and tortured.

Mkhatshwa was a member of the ANC, the leading South African party, since the end of the party ban. In 1994 he became a member of the South African Parliament for the ANC. 1994 to 1996 he was Chairman of the Committee in the National Assembly. He was appointed Minister of Education in South Africa 1996; this position he held until 1999. 2000 he was elected Mayor of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. He held this position until March 2006.

Mkhatshwa is the first president of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa, the umbrella organization of African cities and regional governments, which was founded in December 2003 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and - with limited influence - is dedicated to the local level of economic and political development of Africa.