14 Facts About Ian Neilson

Ian Douglas Neilson was born on 20 October 1954 and is a South African civil engineer and politician who served as the Deputy Mayor of Cape Town from May 2009 to October 2021.

Ian Neilson previously served as the Mayoral Committee Member for Finance from 2006 until 2016 and Executive Councillor for Safety and Health from 2000 until 2002.

Ian Neilson has served as acting Mayor of Cape Town on two brief occasions in 2018, in May and from 31 October until Dan Plato was sworn in on 6 November.

Ian Neilson worked on a number of flood and storm water projects, most notable of which was the design of the canal system at Century City in Cape Town, which later received an award from the Association of Consulting Engineers.

Ian Neilson was involved in politics from his student days at the University of Cape Town where he was involved in opposition to the apartheid government of the day.

Ian Neilson's first campaign towards elective office was in the 1987 South African general election, when he was a candidate for the Progressive Federal Party in the constituency of Pretoria Central.

Ian Neilson moved back to Cape Town in 1990 and in 1996 was a candidate for the Democratic Party in the first local government elections in a new democratic South Africa.

Ian Neilson was elected as a Proportional List Councillor to the Council of the Blaauwberg Municipality as the DP's sole representative.

Ian Neilson served as a member of the Council's Executive Committee and on the Planning Committee.

Ian Neilson was elected as a DA councillor for Ward 3, an area extending from the wealthy area of Bloubergstrand to the low-cost housing town of Dunoon.

Ian Neilson was shortly thereafter elected as deputy leader of the DA in the council, a position he held for the remainder of the council term.

At the local government election of March 2006, Ian Neilson was elected as the Ward Councillor for Ward 23, a newly delimited ward that extends from Melkbosstrand to Bloubergstrand and parts of Table View.

Ian Neilson was elected by the Council as Executive Deputy Mayor on 27 May 2009.

Ian Neilson retained the Finance portfolio and chairmanship of the city's 2010 FIFA World Cup committee.