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.