Zakhele Mbhele
Zakhele Mbhele (born 9 November 1984) is a South African politician. A Member of Parliament of the Democratic Alliance in the National Assembly, Mbhele served as Media Liaison Officer for Western Cape Premier Helen Zille from November 2011 to May 2014.[1] In the 2014 general election, Mbhele was elected to parliament and served till 2024.
Personal life and education
[edit]Mbhele is openly gay, making him the first openly gay Black member of parliament.[2][3][4] He is one of a number of openly LGBT members of parliament, alongside fellow DA MPs Mike Waters and Ian Ollis. While attending University of Witwatersrand, he led ACTIVATE, the university’s LGBT campus group,[5] and later served on the board of Joburg Pride. He was cited by the Mail & Guardian as one of "Top 200 Young South Africans" for his Civil Society work in 2010.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Media Alert: New Spokesperson in Premier Helen Zille's Office | Western Cape Government". Westerncape.gov.za. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: MEET AFRICA'S FIRST OPENLY-GAY BLACK MP - MambaOnline - Gay South Africa online". MambaOnline. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "Africa elects its first openly gay black MP · PinkNews". Pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ Reynolds, Andrew (21 May 2014). "Harvey Milk's legacy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "My Life : Zak Mbhele". Mambaonline.com. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "200 Young South Africans: Civil Society | News | Mail & Guardian". Mg.co.za. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2015.