Key facts
- Deputy
- Annelie Lotriet , Thomas Walters , James Masango , Ashor Sarupen
- Leader
- John Steenhuisen , Mmusi Maimane
- Preceded by
- James Selfe
- Succeeded by
- Ashor Sarupen
- Constituency
- Western Cape
- Born
- Otta Helene Zille , ( 1951-03-09 ) 9 March 1951 (age 75) , Hillbrow , Johannesburg , Transvaal , South Africa
- Party
- Democratic Alliance , (2000–present)
- Other political affiliations
- Democratic Party , (before 2000)
- Spouse
- Johann Maree ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1982 )
- Alma mater
- St Mary's School, Waverley , University of the Witwatersrand
- Occupation
- Politician legislator activist
- Profession
- Journalist
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Helen
- Gender
- female
- Citizenship
- South Africa
- Place of birth
- Johannesburg
- Occupation
- local politician
- Educated at
- University of the Witwatersrand
- Employer
- The Rand Daily Mail
- Political party
- Democratic Alliance
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Award
- World Mayor
- Image
- Helen Zille - two.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- candidacy in election
- 2009 South African general election
- date of birth
- 1951-03-09
- Commons category
- Helen Zille
- birth name
- Otta Helene Maree
- P10632
- Helen Zille
via Wikidata · CC0
~35 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Otta Helene Zille (/ˈzɪlə/; born 9 March 1951), known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance from October 2019 to April 2026. From 2009 until 2019, she was the Premier of the Western Cape province for two five-year terms, and a member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. She served as Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance from 2007 to 2015 and as Mayor of Cape Town from 2006 to 2009.
Zille is a former journalist and anti-apartheid activist and was one of the journalists who exposed the cover-up around the death of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko while working for the Rand Daily Mail in the late 1970s. She also worked with the Black Sash and other pro-democracy groups during the 1980s. Zille speaks English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, and German.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Helen Zille” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.