The Inkatha Freedom Party is a conservative political party in South Africa,which is a part of the current South African government of national unity together with the African National Congress (ANC). Although registered as a national party,it has had only minor electoral success outside its home province of KwaZulu-Natal. Mangosuthu Buthelezi,who served as chief minister of KwaZulu during the Apartheid period,founded the party in 1975 and led it until 2019. He was succeeded as party president in 2019 by Velenkosini Hlabisa.
Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi was a South African politician and Zulu prince who served as the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family from 1954 until his death in 2023. He was appointed to this post by King Bhekuzulu,the son of King Solomon kaDinuzulu,a brother to Buthelezi's mother Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu.
1994 in South Africa saw the transition from South Africa's National Party government who had ruled the country since 1948 and had advocated the apartheid system for most of its history,to the African National Congress (ANC) who had been outlawed in South Africa since the 1950s for its opposition to apartheid. The ANC won a majority in the first multiracial election held under universal suffrage. Previously,only white people were allowed to vote. There were some incidents of violence in the Bantustans leading up to the elections as some leaders of the Bantusans opposed participation in the elections,while other citizens wanted to vote and become part of South Africa. There were also bombings aimed at both the African National Congress and the National Party and politically-motivated murders of leaders of the opposing ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
Frank Themba Mdlalose was the first Premier of the newly renamed KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa,after the African National Congress (ANC) won the country's first all-inclusive general election on 27 April 1994,while the Inkatha Freedom Party won a majority in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature.
Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi was a South African politician who was the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology of South Africa in the cabinet of Jacob Zuma. She was also President of the National Freedom Party (NFP). Prior to being elected to Parliament,she served for nineteen years as a councillor,fifteen of those years as Mayor of the Zululand District Municipality. She was formerly chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the IFP's candidate for Premier of KwaZulu-Natal in the 2009 general election.
Mkhuleko Hlengwa is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Deputy Minister of Transport since July 2024. He is the national spokesperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and has represented the party in the National Assembly since May 2012.
The 35th Inkatha Freedom Party National General Conference was held from 23 to 25 August 2019 to elect the new leadership of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The previous elective conference was held in 2012. Party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi had announced his intention to retire after serving in the position for more than forty-four years. He was the party's inaugural president. It was understood that the party's IFP Extended National Council favoured the Leader of the Opposition in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature,Velenkosini Hlabisa,to succeed him as party president. Hlabisa was elected unopposed.
Velenkosini Fiki Hlabisa is a South African politician and former teacher who is currently serving as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs since June 2024. He has been President of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) since 2019 and a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2023. He is the party's parliamentary leader. He previously served as the Secretary-General of the IFP from 2011 to 2017,as the Mayor of the Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality from 2016 to 2019 and as the Leader of the Opposition in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature between 2019 and 2023.
Lionel Percival Hercules Mbeki Mtshali was a South African politician who was Premier of KwaZulu-Natal from 1999 to 2004. He was known for unilaterally ordering the expansion of the province's antiretrovirals programme during the HIV/AIDS epidemic,in defiance of the policy of the national government under President Thabo Mbeki. A founding member and former chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party,Mtshali was also national Minister of Arts,Culture,Science and Technology in the government of President Nelson Mandela from 1996 to 1999.
Bonginkosi Meshack Radebe is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature until May 2019. He was formerly Deputy Speaker in the legislature and also served as a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in KwaZulu-Natal from 2009 to 2014. He was known for his role in mediating the political violence between the ANC and Inkatha in Mpumalanga,KwaZulu-Natal in the 1990s.
Prince Nhlanhla Elijah Zulu was a South African politician and prince of the Zulu royal family. He represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the National Assembly from 1995 until his death in 2007. A founding member of the IFP in 1975,he also served on the party's National Council until his death.
Ruth Rabinowitz is a South African politician and medical doctor who represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in Parliament from 1994 to 2009. She served in the Senate from 1994 to 1997 as a delegate from KwaZulu-Natal,and thereafter she was a member of the National Assembly.
Buyisiwe Maureen Nzimande is a South African politician and diplomat who was the Deputy Minister of Public Works from 1999 to 2001 under President Thabo Mbeki. She represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the National Assembly from May 1994 until March 2001,when she resigned to join the diplomatic service.
Mangaqa Albert Mncwango is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal. He represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the National Assembly for 23 years from 1994 to 2017. After that,he served as Mayor of Nongoma,his hometown,from 2017 to 2023. He is currently the deputy secretary-general of the IFP.
Usha Roopnarain is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal. Between 1999 and 2013,she represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the National Assembly and KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. She resigned from the party in June 2013 and joined the African National Congress (ANC).
Walter Sidney Felgate was a South African politician,businessman,and anthropologist. He served in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1997 and then in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature from 1998 until his retirement in 2003.
Eileen Eidana Nkosi-Shandu was a South African politician who served as Deputy Minister of Public Works in the South African Government of National Unity from 1996 to 1999. From 1999 to 2000,she was KwaZulu-Natal's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education,until she was sacked in a nepotism scandal.
Senzo Brian Mfayela is a South African businessman and former politician who represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1999. He is the chief executive officer of Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Buthelezi Foundation.
Everson Thobigunya Xolo was a South African politician and Zulu traditional leader. He was the chief of the Xolo clan at KwaXolo on the Natal South Coast from the late 1960s until 2010,and he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2009.
Mzikayise Vincent Ngema is a South African politician who served in the National Assembly from 2002 to 2009. He was elected as a member of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) but crossed the floor to the National Democratic Convention (Nadeco) in September 2005. He was elected as secretary-general of Nadeco in April 2007.
