{"id":65326,"date":"2021-03-04T13:55:48","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T13:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricaportal.com\/?p=65326"},"modified":"2021-03-04T13:55:48","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T13:55:48","slug":"helen-zille","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricaportal.com\/helen-zille\/","title":{"rendered":"Biography of Helen Zille: Age, Husband, Family & Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helen Zille: Biography of Helen Zille, Age, Husband, Family & Career,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Otta Helene Maree (born 9 March 1951) known as Helen Zille is a South African politician who currently serves as the Federal Council Chairperson of the DA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She previously served as the 7th Premier of the Western Cape Province for two five-year terms and was succeeded by Alan Winde on the 22nd of May, 2019.<\/p>\n

She is a former journalist known to have worked for the Rand Daily Mail\u00a0and was one of the journalists who exposed the cover-up around the death of\u00a0Black Consciousness\u00a0leader\u00a0Steve Biko.<\/p>\n

\"Helen<\/a><\/p>\n

Helen Zille Age<\/h2>\n

She was born on the 9th of March, 1951 in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. As of 2020, she is 69 years old.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Helen Zille Early Life<\/h2>\n

Helen Zille is the first child of her parents who had relocated from Germany to South Africa in the 1930s to avoid the Nazi persecution.<\/p>\n

Her mother was a volunteer with the\u00a0Black Sash Advice and her family lived in\u00a0Rivonia.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Helen Zille Education<\/h2>\n

Helen Zille attended St Mary\u2019s School, Waverley and the University of the Witwatersrand, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. Zille speaks\u00a0English,\u00a0Afrikaans,\u00a0Xhosa, and\u00a0German.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Helen Zille Family and Children<\/h2>\n

Helen Zille and her husband, Professor Johann Maree have been married since 1982. They have two sons named Paul and Thomas. Paul and his wife, Gretl have a child named Mila.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Helen Zille Career<\/h2>\n

In 1974, Zille started as a political correspondent for the\u00a0Rand Daily Mail.<\/i><\/p>\n

It was during her stay there that she and her editor, Allister Sparks exposed the cover-up around the death of Steve Biko obtaining evidence that he died as a result\u00a0of a serious head injury and not due to a hunger strike.<\/p>\n

In the 1980s, Zille worked with the Black Sash movement and other pro-democracy groups.<\/p>\n

She served on the regional and national executives of the Black Sash movement, and was also vice-chair of the End Conscription Campaign in the Western Cape.<\/p>\n

<\/sup>Zille was also actively involved in the South Africa Beyond Apartheid Project and the Cape Town Peace Committee.<\/p>\n

In 1989, Zille formed a public policy consultancy while in 1993 she worked at the University of Cape Town as Director of Development and Public Affairs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>In 1999 she became a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature\u00a0and was appointed\u00a0MEC\u00a0for Education.<\/sup><\/p>\n

As a member of the Democratic Alliance, Zille became a Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2006.<\/p>\n

Within the DA, she served as National Party Spokesperson, Spokesperson for Education and Deputy Federal Chairperson.<\/p>\n

In 2006, she was elected as the Mayor of Cape Town and served until the 30th of April 2009.<\/p>\n

In 2007, she was elected Leader of the DA and led the party while she was still the Executive Mayor of Cape Town. She resigned as Party Leader in 2015.<\/p>\n

From 2009 to 2019, Helen Zille served as the Premier of the Western Cape for two terms. She is presently the Federal Council Chairperson\u00a0of the\u00a0Democratic Alliance.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Awards and Recognition<\/h2>\n