Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a Kellogg Fellow (KSAL) and is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. She has devoted her career to issues of human rights, equality and social justice.
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka completed her PhD on education and technology at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom and began her career as a teacher. She gained international experience as a coordinator at the World YWCA in Geneva, where she established a global program for young women.
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka has worked in government, civil society, private sector, and was actively involved in the struggle to end apartheid in her home country of South Africa. She was a Member of Parliament as part of South Africa’s first democratic government, has served as the Minister of Minerals and Energy and as the Deputy Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry.
From 2005 to 2008, she served as Deputy President of South Africa, overseeing programs to combat poverty and bring the advantages of a growing economy to the poor, with a particular focus on women.
A longtime champion of women’s rights, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka is affiliated with several organizations devoted to education, women’s empowerment and gender equality. She is the founder of the Umlambo Foundation, which supports leadership and education.
Excerpt adatped from the UN Women website.
Photo: Marco Grob