Thuli Madonsela – South African Advocate

As South Africa’s Public Protector from 2009 to 2016, Thuli Madonsela was credited with fighting the corruption and maladministration that was in the state. She was also known for taking control of the many public resources to combat the many injustices happening.

She has held a key role in politics for many years, in 1996, she aided President Nelson Mandela in drafting the final constitution of South Africa. However, until 2007, she was just an ordinary member of the Pretoria branch of the African National Congress (ANC). She was there for the apartheid area and served in the United Democratic Front anti-apartheid organization and the ANC

In 1994, she was offered a position in the ANC but declined. In fact, she was unsuccessfully nominated by many of the ANC branches in Gauteng to represent the in the National Assembly in the 2014 election. However, her spokesperson stated that she would not have accepted anyways.

Madonsela, 54, was named one of the 100 most inspirational and influential women in the world by BBC for her work in 2016. She stated that as long as injustice exists there can not be any type of sustainable peace anywhere.

The feminine name Thuli is the short form of Thulisile, which is Zulu for “she who made things quiet”. It is also the former name of the Tuli River located in Zimbabwe. The name is common in South Africa, given to many people, from Thuli Qegu a netball player to Thuli Dumakude a singer-songwriter and actress.