Happy Blose | |
---|---|
Member of the National Assembly | |
In office 23 April 2004 – 7 August 2006 | |
Constituency | KwaZulu-Natal |
Personal details | |
Born | 7 July 1951 |
Citizenship | South Africa |
Political party | African National Congress |
Happy Mamlili Blose (born 7 July 1951) is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature nearly continuously between 1994 and 2019. She also served a brief term in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2006. She rose to prominence during apartheid as a leader of the women's movement in the Natal Midlands, where she chaired the regional branch of the ANC Women's League in the mid-1990s.
Blose was born on 7 July 1951. [1] Before entering legislative politics, she was a domestic worker. [2] During apartheid, she was active in the women's movement in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal (then the Natal Province), including as a leader of the influential Midland Women's Group in the 1980s. [3] In the early 1990s, she was a key figure in the Natal Midlands branch of the ANC Women's League, [2] which she went on to chair. [4]
In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Blose was elected to represent the ANC in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature. [2] She was re-elected to her seat in 1999. [1] [5] However, as the end of her second term approached, the Mail & Guardian reported that Blose had been significantly demoted on the ANC's party list for the 2 004 general election, to the consternation of her supporters. [6] She was ultimately nominated for election to the National Assembly, the lower house of the national Parliament, where she represented the KwaZulu-Natal constituency from 2004 to 2006. She resigned from the assembly on 7 August 2006 and was replaced by Mandla Mbili. [7]
Thereafter Blose returned to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, where she served the rest of her career. [2] [8] She was elected to full terms in 2009 [9] and 2014, [8] and also served for a period as Deputy Chairperson of Committees in the legislature. [10] She left the provincial legislature after the 2019 general election. [8]
One of Blose's sons, Sithembiso Mkhize, was an official in the national Department of Correctional Services; in 2003, his appointment was scrutinised by a commission of inquiry into nepotism allegations. [11] Another of Blose's sons, Nathi, was his mother's official chauffeur while she served in the provincial legislature; they were in a car accident together in Pietermaritzburg in 2013. [12]
Happy Blose | |
---|---|
Member of the National Assembly | |
In office 23 April 2004 – 7 August 2006 | |
Constituency | KwaZulu-Natal |
Personal details | |
Born | 7 July 1951 |
Citizenship | South Africa |
Political party | African National Congress |
Happy Mamlili Blose (born 7 July 1951) is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature nearly continuously between 1994 and 2019. She also served a brief term in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2006. She rose to prominence during apartheid as a leader of the women's movement in the Natal Midlands, where she chaired the regional branch of the ANC Women's League in the mid-1990s.
Blose was born on 7 July 1951. [1] Before entering legislative politics, she was a domestic worker. [2] During apartheid, she was active in the women's movement in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal (then the Natal Province), including as a leader of the influential Midland Women's Group in the 1980s. [3] In the early 1990s, she was a key figure in the Natal Midlands branch of the ANC Women's League, [2] which she went on to chair. [4]
In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Blose was elected to represent the ANC in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature. [2] She was re-elected to her seat in 1999. [1] [5] However, as the end of her second term approached, the Mail & Guardian reported that Blose had been significantly demoted on the ANC's party list for the 2 004 general election, to the consternation of her supporters. [6] She was ultimately nominated for election to the National Assembly, the lower house of the national Parliament, where she represented the KwaZulu-Natal constituency from 2004 to 2006. She resigned from the assembly on 7 August 2006 and was replaced by Mandla Mbili. [7]
Thereafter Blose returned to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, where she served the rest of her career. [2] [8] She was elected to full terms in 2009 [9] and 2014, [8] and also served for a period as Deputy Chairperson of Committees in the legislature. [10] She left the provincial legislature after the 2019 general election. [8]
One of Blose's sons, Sithembiso Mkhize, was an official in the national Department of Correctional Services; in 2003, his appointment was scrutinised by a commission of inquiry into nepotism allegations. [11] Another of Blose's sons, Nathi, was his mother's official chauffeur while she served in the provincial legislature; they were in a car accident together in Pietermaritzburg in 2013. [12]