Buthelezi, Mangosuthu Gatsha (1928-2023), was a political leader in South Africa. As head of the Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Buthelezi exerted considerable influence over Zulu-speaking people. From 1994 to 2004, Buthelezi served as home affairs minister in the South African government.
Buthelezi was born on Aug. 27, 1928, in Mahlabathini, near Ulundi, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal. Most of South Africa’s Zulus live in KwaZulu-Natal. He was a prince of the Zulu royal house. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) while attending college. He attended South African Native College (now the University of Fort Hare) but was expelled in 1950 for political activity. In 1952, he graduated from the University of Natal (now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal). In 1953, he became the hereditary chief of the Buthelezi clan. In 1970, Buthelezi became the chief executive officer of KwaZulu, one of the homelands established by the South African government. He used this position to attack aspects of South Africa’s policy of enforced racial separation known as apartheid.
In 1994, Buthelezi became a focus of world attention when he announced that he would not register the IFP for South Africa’s first democratic general election. However, he changed his mind and entered the election race one week before voting began. Buthelezi was elected to South Africa’s National Assembly, but the IFP won only 10 percent of votes nationally. The ANC won the election, and its leader, Nelson Mandela, became South Africa’s first Black president. Mandela appointed Buthelezi as South Africa’s home affairs minister, and Buthelezi continued in that office under Thabo Mbeki, Mandela’s successor as president, until 2004. Buthelezi served in the National Assembly from his election in 1994 until his death on Sept. 9, 2023.
