15 Facts About Joel Netshitenzhe

Joel Netshitenzhe was born on 21 December 1956 and is a South African politician and strategist, known for his policy and communications work for the African National Congress.

Joel Netshitenzhe served as head of communications under President Nelson Mandela ; head of Government Communication and Information System ; and head of the policy unit in the Presidency under Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, though he was viewed as a particularly close ally of Mbeki's.

Joel Netshitenzhe was born on 21 December 1956 in Sibasa, Northern Transvaal, a village in what became the bantustan of Venda and, after the end of apartheid, became the Limpopo province.

Joel Netshitenzhe attended medical school at the University of Natal, but dropped out at age twenty to join the African National Congress in exile.

Joel Netshitenzhe received military training in Angola until 1978, and then, remaining in exile, worked as a journalist at the ANC's Radio Freedom.

From 1983, Joel Netshitenzhe was a member of the ANC's Political HQ, the arm of the ANC National Executive Committee with responsibility for the political aspects of the anti-apartheid struggle inside South Africa.

Joel Netshitenzhe was first elected to the National Executive Committee itself, the ANC's top leadership body, in July 1991.

The policy unit which he helped set up in the Presidency became known as Policy Coordination and Advisory Services, and Joel Netshitenzhe was viewed as particularly influential in developing macroeconomic policy.

When Jacob Zuma replaced Mbeki as President in 2009, Joel Netshitenzhe became Director General of PCAS, in which capacity he was responsible for formulating policy alongside Minister Trevor Manuel, who oversaw the National Planning Commission.

Joel Netshitenzhe resigned from PCAS unexpectedly in October 2009, with his resignation effective from the end of December.

Joel Netshitenzhe served on the boards of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Life Healthcare Group, was a visiting professor at the Wits School of Governance, and was executive director and vice chairperson at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, a South African think tank.

Joel Netshitenzhe was particularly close to Mbeki: Mbeki's biographer, Mark Gevisser, viewed him as Mbeki's protege, comparing his mentorship by Mbeki to Mbeki's earlier mentorship by Oliver Tambo.

Joel Netshitenzhe himself cited Mbeki and Pallo Jordan as key influences, and during Mbeki's presidency he was frequently touted as a possible successor to Mbeki.

Ahead of the ANC's 52nd National Conference in Polokwane in 2007, Joel Netshitenzhe accepted a nomination to stand as National Chairperson of the party, but lost in a vote to Baleka Mbete, the Zuma-aligned candidate.

Joel Netshitenzhe was re-elected to the ANC National Executive Committee, and was again in 2012 and in 2017.