ARTICLE / HELEN ZILLE
HELENPERSONAL
ZILLE
UP CLOSE &
a Northern Hills exclusive by Stefan Kemp
IMAGE: SUPPLIED
Helen Zille Born: 9 March 1951, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South
Africa. Helen Zille attended school at St. Mary’s Waverley in
Johannesburg, after which she obtained a Bachelor of Arts
degree from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Zille became a Member of Parliament with the Democratic Alliance in 2004
A
prominent journalist, antiapartheid activist and press
officer for the University of
Cape Town she was also involved
in NGOs and had membership to
several anti-apartheid organisations
such as the Black Sash, the Open
Society Foundation and the
Independent Media Diversity Trust.
Zille joined the Democratic Party,
which changed its name to the
Democratic Alliance in the 1990’s
and served as the Party’s Technical
Advisor. Not long thereafter in
2003 she was elected as a finalist
for the Shoprite Checkers Woman
of the Year Award. Zille became
a Member of Parliament with the
PAGE 16 / NORTHERN HILLS / CHRISTMAS ISSUE 2014
Democratic Alliance (DA) in 2004
and two years later in 2006 the DA
became the largest party in Cape
Town, after which Zille was elected
mayor of the Mother city. As Mayor
of Cape Town, she has fought
against drug abuse, and sought to
improve economic growth as well as
employment creation. The following
WWW.NORTHERNHILLS.CO.ZA