Origins & Early Life

Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (born 19 July 1949) is a South African politician who served as the third president of South Africa from 2008 to 2009, following the resignation of Thabo Mbeki. Thereafter, he was deputy president under Jacob Zuma from 2009 to 2014. Raised in Soweto in the former Transvaal after his family was forcibly removed from Alexandra, Motlanthe was recruited into uMkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), after he finished high school. Between 1977 and 1987, he was imprisoned on Robben Island under the Terrorism Act for his anti-apartheid activism.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Upon his release, he joined the influential National Union of Mineworkers, where he was general secretary between 1992 and early 1998. After the end of apartheid, he ascended from the trade union movement to the national leadership of the ruling ANC, serving as ANC secretary general from late 1997 to late 2007. He was elected ANC deputy president, on a slate aligned to Zuma, by the ANC's 2007 Polokwane conference. In mid-2008, he was sworn in as a Member of Parliament and as Mbeki's second Minister in the Presidency – his first job in government. Only weeks later, on 25 September 2008, Parliament...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Ahmed Zaki (actor) — Contemporary (Born in 1949) (1949): Iconic Egyptian actor celebrated for intense dramatic performances and masterful impersonation.
• Alan Menken — Contemporary (Born in 1949) (1949): Award-winning American composer celebrated for Disney film scores and Broadway musicals.
• Alice Bailey — Contemporary (Died in 1949) (1949): American esoteric writer known for neo-theosophical works and pioneering New Age concepts.
• Alfredo Binda — Shared historical date (07-19 · Died) (1986): Pioneering Italian cyclist, renowned for five Giro d'Italia wins and multiple world titles.
• Arno Breker — Shared historical date (07-19 · Born) (1900): German sculptor famous for public works during Nazi Germany, known for idealized heroic figures.
• Amadeo Giannini — Historical peer (Died in 1949) (1949): Pioneering American banker who founded the Bank of Italy and influenced modern finance.
• Andy Kaufman — Historical peer (Born in 1949) (1949): Pioneering performance artist known for anti-comedy and character work.
• Albert Hofmann — Historical peer (Died in 2008) (2008): Swiss chemist renowned for synthesizing LSD and pioneering psychedelic research.
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — Historical peer (Died in 2008) (2008): Dissident author who exposed Soviet repression, notably the Gulag system.
• Aage Bohr — Historical peer (Died in 2009) (2009): Pioneering Danish nuclear physicist, Nobel laureate for atomic structure theory.
• 1949 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1949
• July 19 (07-19) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on July 19