Hon Naledi Pandor
Naledi Pandor was born on 7 December 1953 in Durban , KwaZulu Natal. She received most of her education in exile and matriculated at Gabarone Secondary School in Botswana in 1972. She obtained a Bachelor's Degree in History and English at the University of Botswana and Swaziland in 1977. After completing this course she left for London , completing her Masters' Degree at the University of London in 1978. In 1997 she obtained her Masters of General Linguistics from the University of Stellenbosch .
Before becoming the Minister of Education in 2004 Pandor was involved in educational issues in various ways. She has been senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and during the time she spent abroad she taught English in Botswana and London . She also taught at the University of Botswana before joining the UCT in 1989. In 1996 Pandor was appointed as member of the Cape Technikon Council.
Following South Africa 's first democratic elections in 1994 Pandor was elected into parliament, and in 1995 she became a Whip and then Deputy Chief Whip of the African National Congress (ANC). She also convened the Sub-Committee on Higher Education in the Education Portfolio Committee. In August 1998 she became the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and in 1999 she was elected Chairperson of the NCOP.
