THABO MBEKI

Thabo Mbeki was born 18 June 1942 in South Africa. He is the former South African President

He was born and raised in Mbewuleni  Cape Province, Mbeki is one of four children of and Govan Mbeki

In December 1961, Mbeki was elected secretary of the African Students' Association. In the following year, he left South Africa on instructions of the ANC.

During his time in office the economy grew at an average rate of 4.5% per year. He attracted the bulk of Africa's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and made South Africa the focal point of African growth. He was the architect of NEPAD whose aim is to develop an integrated socio-economic development framework for Africa.

Thabo Mbeki was the executive face of government in South Africa from 1994. Mbeki created employment in the middle sectors of the economy and oversaw a fast-growing black middle class with the implementation of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). This growth exacerbated the demand for trained professionals strained by emigration due to violent crime, but failed to address unemployment amongst the unskilled bulk of the population.