4
LMS Issue 4 | 2014
Under the microscope
DST Accelerated to the Next Level
Profile of Minister Naledi Pandor
Full Name:
Naledi Grace Mandisa Pandor
Date of Birth:
07 December 1953
Birth Place:
Editor’s
Note
Durban, KwaZulu- Natal
Qualifications:
Master of Education - University of London
Master of Arts: General Linguistics - University of Stellenbosch
Bachelor of Arts - University of Botswana
Current Position:
Minister of Science and Technology
While most of SA spent the last
Previous Positions: Minister of Home Affairs 2012 - 2014
Minster of Science and Technology 2009 - 2012
Minister of Education 2004 - 2009
O
n the 7th May 2014, SA held its fifth
democratic election and just a
few weeks later, the newly re-elected
President Jacob Zuma announced his
Cabinet for his next term of office.
His announcement brought about a
major reshuffle in government, with the
reassigning of former Minister of Science
and Technology, Derek Hanekom, to
the position of Minister of Tourism. The
Department of Science and Technology
(DST) welcomed Minister Grace Naledi
Mandisa Pandor, who will assume
Hanekom’s former position as the new
Minister of Science and Technology. It
has only been two months since her
appointment and already the Durbanborn Minister is making waves in the
South African science community.
On the 25th May, Minister Pandor
resumed her role as Minister of Science
and Technology, after having served as
Minister of Home Affairs for two years.
While 60-year-old Pandor is certainly not
new to the DST, having served as the
Minister of Science and Technology in
President Zuma’s first Cabinet from 2009
until 2012, she is returning to a very ‘different’ department than when she left.
Nevertheless, Minister Pandor has already
started off her term on an enthusiastic
note by setting specific goals for both
her and the department. Her first media
address took place on the 4th June and
Minister Pandor took this opportunity to
highlight so