Nhlanhla Musa Nene served as the Minister of Finance of South Africa under President Jacob Zuma from 25 May 2014 until his controversial removal on 9 December 2015, and under President Cyril Ramaphosa from 27 February 2018 until his resignation on 9 October 2018.
25 Facts About Nhlanhla Nene
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Nhlanhla Nene previously served as the Deputy Minister of Finance in the Cabinet of South Africa from November 2008 to May 2014, as chairperson of the Finance Portfolio Committee in the South African Parliament, and as a Member of Parliament for the African National Congress starting in 1999.
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Nhlanhla Nene obtained a Diploma in Marketing Management DMS; an Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy from the UWC; a Certificate in Economic Policy from the University of South Africa ; and a Certificate in Macro and Micro Economics from the University of London.
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Nhlanhla Nene attended a Course in Evaluating Macroeconomic Strategies in 2000 at Williams College, MA, USA.
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Nhlanhla Nene worked as a Regional Administrative Manager for Metropolitan Life Insurance for 15 years.
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Nhlanhla Nene became a labour union shop steward and led a negotiating team for better working conditions during the period 1990 to 1995 and he organised the first ever strike in the financial sector, under the banner of SACAWU, while working at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1990.
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Nhlanhla Nene served as regional secretary of ANC Ukhahlamba region from 1997 until 2000 and as a chairperson of Kranskop Policing Forum from 1997 to 1999.
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Nhlanhla Nene became ANC Local Government councillor and caucus chairperson from 1996 until 1999 and chairperson of Ntunjambili Development Forum from 1994 until 1999.
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Nhlanhla Nene became a Member of Parliament in 1999, and as an MP was a co-chairperson of Joint Budget Committee from October 2002 to August 2005 and a chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Finance from 2005 until 2008.
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Nhlanhla Nene has said he had a great deal of respect for her and her "no nonsense" ways.
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Nhlanhla Nene held the Chair of the Joint Budget Committee and is currently a member of the ANC Regional Executive Committee for the Bambatha region.
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Nhlanhla Nene replaced Jabu Moleketi, who resigned after the recall of president Thabo Mbeki.
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Nhlanhla Nene was appointed the new Minister of Finance on 25 May 2014.
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Nhlanhla Nene was hailed by financial analysts as a good finance minister who criticized several government spending plans, including a plan to build several nuclear plants.
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Mr Nhlanhla Nene has done well since his appointment as Minister of Finance during a difficult economic climate.
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Mr Nhlanhla Nene enjoys a lot of respect in the sector locally and abroad, having served as a Deputy Minister of Finance previously.
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Nhlanhla Nene however indicated in the Financial Mail that he had not received official confirmation of this nomination, and the nomination did not materialise.
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Nhlanhla Nene initially returned to Parliament, but resigned as an MP later that month.
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Nhlanhla Nene resigned on 9 October 2018, following his admission that he had visited the controversial Gupta family on several occasions.
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The chair malfunction occurred while Nhlanhla Nene was answering questions concerning Finance Minister Trevor Manuel's mini-budget on the programme View from the House.
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Twelve seconds after the cracking sound the chair failed catastrophically, causing Nhlanhla Nene to fall backwards, his hands grabbing at the desk as the chair collapsed beneath him.
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Nhlanhla Nene was unharmed and the interview continued, with Nene in a different chair.
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Nhlanhla Nene carried on with the interview after a short ad break.
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One colleague quipped that perhaps Nhlanhla Nene should give up his chairmanship of the portfolio finance committee to lead a standing committee instead.
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Nhlanhla Nene's office was swamped by media requests, and Nhlanhla Nene stated he no longer wished to talk about the matter.