Former Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana has passed away at the age of 72. Mdladlana served as Labour Minister in Nelson Mandela’s cabinet from 1998, taking over from the late Tito Mboweni.
He continued to hold the post into Thabo Mbeki’s administration, Kgalema Motlanthe’s and later in Jacob Zuma’s administration until 2010, when he lost his position as Labour Minister when Zuma reshuffled his cabinet.
He was first elected as a MP following the 1994 elections as a member of the African National Congress.
Hailing from the Eastern Cape, Mdladlana was born in May 1952. He was a teacher by training, having served at Vukukhanye Primary School in Gugulethu, outside of Cape Town between 1972 and 1981.
Mdladlana was the founder of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union.
Following his cabinet career, Mdladlana served as Ambassador in Burundi and High Commissioner to Canada.
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