A veteran member of the African National Congress (ANC), Gordhan retired from politics following the May elections when the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since taking power in 1994.
In a statement released early Friday, his family said, “Mr. Gordhan passed away peacefully in hospital surrounded by his family, closest friends and his long-time comrades in the liberation struggle in the early hours of this morning,” following a week of hospitalisation.
“We have lost an outstanding leader whose unassuming persona belied the depth of intellect, integrity, and energy with which he undertook his activism, his duty as a parliamentarian and his roles as a member of Cabinet,” stated President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Pravin Gordhan’s political activism began in his teenage years, as he fought against apartheid and became involved in the African National Congress (ANC)’s underground networks during the 1980s.
He played a key role as one of the negotiators for South Africa’s peaceful transition to a constitutional democracy and was elected to parliament in 1994 after Nelson Mandela became the country’s first democratic president.
Gordhan held several significant government roles, serving as the head of the South Africa Revenue Service from 1999 to 2009, where he earned praise for transforming it into a world-class tax and customs agency.
He later served two terms as finance minister, from 2009 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2017, and his last position was as the minister of public enterprises from 2018 to 2024, overseeing state-owned enterprises.
A vocal critic of corruption, Gordhan openly challenged mismanagement in government and state-owned companies, and was one of the ministers who spoke out against former President Jacob Zuma’s leadership while still part of his Cabinet.