Albertina Luthuli

Albertina Luthuli
Member of the National Assembly
In office 2 April 2001 – 1 May 2011
Personal details
Born	(1932-03-14) 14 March 1932 (age 92) Groutville, Natal Province Union of South Africa
Political party	African National Congress
Relations	Albert Luthuli (father) Nokukhanya Bhengu (mother)
Alma mater	University of Natal (MBChB)

Albertina Nomathuli Luthuli (born 14 March 1932) is a South African politician and medical doctor who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2011. Before that, she served in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature. She is the eldest daughter of ANC stalwart Albert Luthuli.

Early life and career

Luthuli was born on 14 March 1932[1] in Groutville in the former Natal Province. She was the second of seven children born to Albert Luthuli, an ANC stalwart and ultimately a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate who died when he was struck by a train in 1967, and Nokukhanya Bhengu.[2] She attended Adams College and matriculated at St Francis College before enrolling at the University of Natal, where she completed an MBChB.[3]

From 1971 to 1991, during the height of apartheid, she lived in exile in Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom.[4] When she returned to South Africa in 1991, she opened a medical practice in Natal.[3][5]

Post-apartheid political career

After the end of apartheid in 1994, Luthuli represented the ANC in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature.[4][5] On 2 April 2001, she was sworn in to the National Assembly to fill a casual vacancy in the ANC's KwaZulu-Natal caucus.[6] In the 2004 general election, she was elected to a full term in the seat.[7][8] She was re-elected in 2009 but resigned on 1 May 2011; her seat was filled by Duduzile Sibiya.[9]

Retirement

Luthuli lives in her hometown of Groutville.[1] In 2016, she was publicly critical of President Jacob Zuma; she was one of 100 ANC stalwarts who signed an open letter calling for reform in the ANC[10] and she attended several civil society events which protested against decisions of Zuma's administration.[11][12] She has also called publicly for another inquest into the circumstances of her father's death.[5][1]

References

1. "The downfall of the ANC in Groutville – home to Albert Luthuli". The Mail & Guardian. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
2. "Nokukhanya Luthuli". South African History Online. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
3. "Albertina Luthuli". TEDxSaltRock. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
4. "Trustees". Christians for Peace in Africa. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
5. "Luthuli inquest could be reopened". The Mail & Guardian. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
6. "The National Assembly List of Resinations and Nominations". Parliament of South Africa. 2 June 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
7. "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
8. "MPs urge new scholar transport laws". News24. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
9. "Members of the National Assembly". Parliamentary Monitoring Group. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
10. "ANC stalwarts critique of current leadership: the full text". GroundUp News. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
11. "S. Africa's ANC on 'polarization' path". DW. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
12. "If one man is not responsible, then who is? – Albertina Luthuli". News24. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2023.