Mosiuoa Lekota

Gerard Patrick Lekota Mosiuoa ( born August 13, 1948 in Kroonstad ) is a South African politician. He is Chairman of the Party Congress of the People ( COPE ). He belonged to October 2008, the African National Congress ( ANC) and ANC was a member from 1994 to 1996 Prime Minister of the Free State Province, and from 1999 to 2008 South African defense minister.

In his youth Lekota got the nickname "Terror Lekota ," which refers to his style on the football field. Lekota matriculated in 1969 at St Francis College, Maria Hill, in what is now KwaZulu -Natal. Because of his activities for the ANC and the Student Representative Council (SRC ) but he was directed in 1972 by the University. Lekota is married and has three children with his wife Cynthia and a child with the former deputy chairman of Cape Nature Yasmina Pandy.

Political career

In 1974 he followed Abraham Tiro as coordinator of the South African Students ' Organisation ( SASO ) to, but was imprisoned in the same year for conspiracy in Robben Iceland Prison. He had organized victory celebrations after the independence of Mozambique. In 1982, he was released again.

After his release, he became in 1983 the spokesman of the anti - apartheid movement, the United Democratic Front elected. In 1985 he was arrested again and sentenced in Delmas process later, but the decision was withdrawn on appeal in 1989.

1990 Lekota was also elected chairman of the ANC in South Natal, and shortly thereafter the ANC National Executive Committee. The following year he was appointed overseer of the ANC Intelligence and chairman of the ANC Election Commission. After the first free elections Lekota could conquer the Office of the Prime Minister of the Free State Province, which he held from 11 May 1994 until 18 December 1996.

Then held Lekota to the Office of the Chairman in the National Council of Provinces from 1997 until he was appointed to the South African Minister of Defence in 1999. Following the resignation of President Thabo Mbeki in September 2008, Lekota filed along with ten other ministers in his resignation.

On 8 October 2008 Lekota announced that he would convene a National Assembly, which was to discuss the formation of a new party. He was then expelled from the ANC on 14 October 2008.

At the inaugural meeting of the Party Congress of the People ( COPE ) in Bloemfontein on 16 December 2008 chose the approximately 4000 delegates Mosiuoa Lekota as party leader. The official registration as a party and recognition as such by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on 19 December 2008.

After the parliamentary elections in South Africa in 2009 Lekota took no parliamentary seat, but continued to focus on building the party.

In 2010, a power struggle developed for leadership of the party between Lekota and his deputy Mbhazima Shilowa. On May 29, 2010, the delegates of Party Congress spoke in a vote of no confidence against Lekota as chairman from. A week later, the Supreme Court declared that vote in Johannesburg, due to procedural errors void. After Mvume Dandala had resigned from the group's presidency on 15 July 2010 and resigned from his mandate, Lekota returned to the Parliament and also took over the group's presidency.