Thabo Mbeki: born into the struggle

Abstract

South African politician and public intellectual Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki was born into a family of prominent political activists. He went into exile soon after completing his schooling, and rose in the ranks of the ANC until he became the organisation's president, as well as President of the Republic of South Africa. Mbeki is the son of Epainette Mbeki (nee Moerane) and Govan Mbeki, who were both teachers, political activists and members of the Communist Party of South Africa as well as the ANC. Mbeki, who was born in Mbewuleni, a village in the Idutywa District of the former Transkei on 18 June 1942 into a middle-class family, was the second of four children. The family was relatively well off by village standards. His mother ran a trading store in the village, and the family kept sheep and goats. His father was a university graduate, and Mbeki read the many books that his father kept in the house. During this period, he served as the reader and writer for all the illiterate adults in the village. Mbeki, however, gained most of his political knowledge from his mother.