Dion George 'proud to be SA's first openly gay minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment'

Forestry, fisheries and the environment minister Dion George has proudly declared himself openly gay.

“I am proudly the first openly gay minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment in South African history,” said George at the 2025 Cape Town Pride festival at the weekend.

“I introduced to Cape Town Pride my husband, Craig. Craig is the only same-sex husband in the national cabinet and the first in South African history,” he said.

Reflecting on the journey of LGBTQ+ activism, George shared his personal experience of the first Pride March in South Africa on October 13 1990 in Johannesburg.

“I was there, aged 24. I did not wear a paper bag over my head, like many others who had no option because they would be fired from work or get beaten up if they openly expressed who they were,” he said.

“Every year after then, the struggle was clear to see as we got insulted, had objects thrown at us and some were physically assaulted. But we never blinked and instead stood together, united in the fight for our freedom to be who we are and to love who we choose.”

The Cape Town Pride website highlights the significance of the event, saying: “Pride provides a platform for every part of Cape Town’s LGBTQ+ community to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and campaign for the freedoms that will allow them to live their lives on a genuinely equal footing.”

The annual Pride Parade, which is the final event of the 2025 Pride Festival calendar, saw thousands of people marching through the streets, draped in rainbow flags and vibrant outfits, celebrating diversity and inclusion.

The march was followed by the Pride Mardi Gras at the Greenpoint A-track, creating an atmosphere of unity and joy.

While George acknowledged the progress made in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, he also reminded attendees that the struggle continues.

“Today that fight is still on because we are still not free. As a nation, we’ve come a long way but still have far to go,” he said.

“Some who choose to hate came out to the sidelines of our celebration. Some who choose to hate want to paint over the rainbow crossing in the road we walked across earlier. To them I say, you just make the fight for equality stronger and you remind us we must never take the freedom we have won for granted.”

George also highlighted the harsh reality many LGBTQ+ individuals still face in South Africa.

“In South Africa today, people are raped and killed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and that is not freedom but tyranny. The SAPS are responding to this specific type of violence but not doing enough and much more needs to be done. 

“Our community has survived two pandemics in my lifetime: Aids and Covid-19. Aids took a lot longer to grip the attention of the world and for medication to be developed because it was associated with people like us and nobody cared enough until it was not just us.”

George praised the efforts of the Western Cape health and wellness department for ensuring access to antiretroviral treatment and clinical care through the province’s own budget. He assured those affected by the closure of NPOs they could still access services in the Western Cape health-care system.

The constitution guarantees protection of the LGBTQ+ community but it is the responsibility of the government to ensure these are fully realised, he said.

“Celebrate today this truth: We are proudly everywhere.”

Lynne Brown became the country’s first openly gay provincial leader in 2008 as the premier of the Western Cape. In 2014 she became the first openly lesbian cabinet minister after former president Jacob Zuma appointed her public enterprises minister. This also made her the first openly LGBTQ+ person to be appointed to a cabinet post in any African government.

TimesLIVE