22 Facts About Jessie Duarte

Yasmin "Jessie" Duarte was a South African politician and acting secretary-general of the African National Congress.

Jessie Duarte was placed under a banning order until the lifting of the prevailing state of emergency.

Jessie Duarte worked for Ravan Press, a publishing company co-founded by Naude.

When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, he appointed Jessie Duarte to be one of his personal assistants, a position she held until he became President of South Africa in 1994.

Jessie Duarte assisted Walter Sisulu in a similar capacity in the lead-up to South Africa's first democratic elections.

Jessie Duarte became involved in the leadership of the African National Congress at a regional level and was elected to the Transvaal Provincial Executive Council, was appointed to the ANC's interim leadership core, and became the inaugural Member of the Executive Council for Safety and Security in Gauteng.

Jessie Duarte was forced to quit her position as Safety and Security MEC after a commission of inquiry reported a "strong suspicion" that she had covered up a car accident while driving without a licence.

Jessie Duarte admitted to having driven a car without a license but maintained that it was people in her department who had put out the claim that it was a bodyguard driving at the time.

Jessie Duarte then became a diplomat and served as the South African ambassador to Mozambique from 1999 to 2003.

Jessie Duarte became a spokesperson for the ANC and until 2010 served as chief operations officer in the Presidency in the office of President Jacob Zuma.

Jessie Duarte later voiced support for the ANC's plans for a Media Appeals Tribunal in South Africa which faced criticism as being political interference with free speech and possibly unconstitutional.

Jessie Duarte was re-elected for a second five-year term at ANC's next national conference in Nasrec, Gauteng in 2017.

Jessie Duarte took over as ANC's acting Secretary-General when the incumbent Ace Magashule was suspended due to his indictment for corruption in May 2021.

In 2014, Jessie Duarte publicly compared Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to that of Nazi Germany.

In 2020 Jessie Duarte wanted the justice minister to "address" the "influential role" of the chief justice at the Judicial Service Commission as she felt that the independent judiciary had too much power.

On 7 January 2021, Jessie Duarte announced that she would be retiring as deputy secretary-general of the ANC at the party's next conference in 2022.

Jessie Duarte was accused of being tolerant of corruption within government structures, and in April 2021 supported former President Zuma's claims that the Zondo Commission was discredited.

Jessie Duarte's son was accused of receiving money from a company that was awarded government tenders.

Jessie Duarte was married to John Duarte, with whom she had two children, and divorced in 2001.

In 2022, the African National Congress gave Jessie Duarte sick leave and she was away from her political duties for many months.

Jessie Duarte died from cancer on 17 July 2022 at age 68.

Jessie Duarte's funeral was held in accordance with Muslim rites later that same day, with the eulogy delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa; she was buried at Westpark Cemetery.