President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday evening announced the appointment of David van Rooyen as the Minister of Finance, bringing an end to Nhlanhla Nene’s tenure as financial caretaker of the country.
So who exactly is South Africa’s new financial number one?
1. He has an anti-apartheid struggle history
"Van Rooyen began his career in politics in the mid-1980s as an MK operative and soldier. He held positions in the Congress of South African Students and in the Khutsong Student Congress, served as a United Democratic Front representative and was a member of the National Union of Mineworkers."
2. He was a leader during our democratic transition
Van Rooyen held a number of leadership positions from 1994 to 2009.
He served as a whip of the standing committee on finance and as whip of the economic transformation cluster.
He is a former executive mayor of Merafong Municipality and a former North West provincial chairperson of the South African Local Government Association.
From 1994-1997 he was an ANC branch leader, then an ANC regional leader until 2007 and a provincial leader in the party until 2009. He was also a branch leader of the ANC Youth League between 1994 and 1996 and a regional leader in the league between 1996 and 2003.
3. The new finance minister is an academic
Van Rooyen holds a number of qualifications, his most significant being an advanced Business Management Diploma and a Diploma in Municipal Governance.
4. His hobbies include hunting
Among his favourite pastimes are soccer, golf, tennis, reading and hunting.
5. He has been honoured in financial academics overseas
The University of London conferred an MSc Finance (Economic Policy) to Van Rooyen on July 30, 2014. He recently acquired a certificate in investment analysis and portfolio management from UNISA.
Source: News24
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