Nazier Paulsen | |
---|---|
Member of the National Assembly | |
In office 20 May 2015 –28 May 2024 | |
Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament | |
In office 21 May 2014 –May 2015 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Mogamad Nazier Paulsen |
Political party | Economic Freedom Fighters |
Spouse | Aishah Cassiem |
Alma mater | University of Cape Town |
Mogamad Nazier Paulsen is South African politician who served as a Member of the National Assembly for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Prior to serving parliament,he served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. [1]
Nazier Paulsen and his family had previously been part of the anti-apartheid movement. Paulsen was a member of the United Democratic Front. [2] He obtained a BCom Honours degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Distributed Systems from the University of Cape Town. He was previously an Information and Technology lecturer at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Paulsen also served as the chairperson of the Mitchells Plain Community Development Corporation and the chairperson of the South African Progressive Civic Organisation (SAPCO). [3]
Paulsen joined the Economic Freedom Fighters in 2013. He was the party's Western Cape Premier candidate for the 2014 general elections. The EFF won one seat in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Paulsen filled the seat on 21 May 2014. [4] [5]
In May 2015,the EFF redeployed him to the National Assembly of South Africa. Bernard Joseph succeeded him as the EFF's sole representative in the Provincial Parliament. He won a second term as a Member of Parliament in May 2019. [3] [6] [7]
Paulsen was not ranked high enough on the EFF national list to be returned to the National Assembly after the 2024 general election. [8] [9]
When Paulsen took office as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament,he was assigned a laptop. He resigned as a Member of the Provincial Parliament in May 2015 and initially refused to hand the laptop back. [10] The Provincial Parliament approached the police,and he was charged with theft. [11] The charge was withdrawn in July 2019. [12]
On 6 November 2018,Paulsen was involved in a fracas with Agang MP,Andries Tlouamma. [13] In response,President Cyril Ramaphosa called on MPs to embrace non-racialism when interacting with one another. [14] The footage of the occurrence was referred to Parliament's Disciplinary Committee. [15]
On 15 August 2019,Paulsen appeared in court due to his alleged assault of a man that was parked outside his ex-wife's house in early-August. His next court appearance was in September. [16] [17]
On 19 November 2019,Paulsen was asked to leave the National Assembly following his refusal to retract his statement that Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan appoints SOE staff based on their race. [18]
During a sitting of the National Assembly in March 2021,Paulsen told DA MP Phumzile van Damme to go back to Eswatini and the DA chief whip in the National Assembly,Natasha Mazzone,to go back to Italy. Deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli then ordered Paulsen to leave the House amid the tension. As Paulsen was leaving,the DA's Van Damme waved at him and Tsenoli told her not to be provocative. Van Damme then said that Paulsen allegedly threatened to "beat her up" and got into an argument with EFF MPs. She was then ordered to leave and was accompanied by two male DA MPs,Kevin Mileham and Chris Hunsinger. Paulsen denied threatening her. [19] [20] On 28 July 2021,the National Assembly's Power and Privileges Committee decided that it would investigate the matter and that Paulsen would face disciplinary hearings for his actions. It is alleged that he also threatened to assault two other DA MPs at the sitting back in March. [21] [22]
In January 2023,the Cape Youth Front (CYF) filed charges against Mr Paulsen after he called for supporters of Cape independence to be executed on social media platform X (formerly twitter). [23] In addition,in response to a pro-Cape Independence account he said:“we should start finding the IP addresses of these accounts and start locating the people behind it”. The CYF consequently formally laid charges against Mr Paulsen,on ground of incitement to commit violence under Section 17 of the Riotous Assembly Act [no. 17 of 1956]. [24]
The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa,located in Cape Town,Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation system where half of the members are elected proportionally from nine provincial lists and the remaining half from national lists so as to restore proportionality.
Otta Helene Maree,known as Helen Zille,is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. 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.
John Henry Steenhuisen is a South African politician who has served as the twentieth leader of the Opposition since October 2019 and has been the leader of the Democratic Alliance since November 2020,having served as the interim leader for one year from November 2019. He was chief whip of the official opposition from May 2014 until October 2019.
Geordin Gwyn Hill-Lewis is a South African politician who is the Mayor of Cape Town. A member of the Democratic Alliance,he was elected mayor in November 2021.
Mmusi Aloysias Maimane is a South African politician,businessman,and leader of Build One South Africa,a political party. Maimane is also the former Leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) political party from 10 May 2015 to 23 October 2019,and the former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of South Africa from 29 May 2014 to 24 October 2019. He became the first black South African to lead the DA,as well as its youngest leader to date.
Agang South Africa is a South African political party,first announced by anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele on 18 February 2013,and founded on 22 June 2013,the date of the party's first official congress.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema,and his allies,in 2013. Malema is president of the EFF,heading the Central Command Team,which serves as the central structure of the party. It is currently the third-largest party in both houses of the Parliament of South Africa. The party is also the official opposition in three of South Africa's nine provincial legislatures.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President,National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Mmoba Solomon "Solly" Malatsi is a South African politician from Limpopo. He has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since May 2014. He has served in the national leadership of the Democratic Alliance (DA) as a deputy federal chairperson since 2023. He has also been the party's national spokesperson since August 2022,previously holding the position from June 2018 to November 2020. Malatsi was also the Parliamentary Counsellor to the DA Parliamentary Leader. He has also held posts in the DA's shadow cabinet.
Yoliswa Nomampondomise Yako is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape who served as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa. She took office as an MP on 3 September 2018. Before that,Yako was a PR councillor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality and the chairperson of the municipality's Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC). Yako is a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Mervyn Alexander Dirks is a South African politician who served as a Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature from June 2023 until February 2024. A former member of the African National Congress,he previously served as a member of the National Assembly from May 2014 to January 2023.
Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba is a South African politician. She is the current chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education in the National Assembly of South Africa and a Member of Parliament representing the African National Congress. Prior to serving in parliament,she was a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in the Northern Cape provincial government.
Pebane George Moteka is a South African politician who was elected to the National Assembly at the 2014 general election as a representative of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). He was re-elected to parliament in 2019. He resigned from parliament on 31 July 2022.
Zandile Majozi is a South African politician who became an MP in the South African parliament at the 2019 general election as a representative of the Inkatha Freedom Party.
Darren Bergman is a South African politician who has served as Shadow Deputy Minister of Trade,Industry and Competition since 2023 and has been a Member of Parliament for the Democratic Alliance since 2014. He was Shadow Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation between 2014 and 2019 and Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation between 2019 and 2023.
Nocawe Noncedo Mafu is a South African politician currently serving as Deputy Minister of Sports,Arts and Culture. She has been a member of the National Assembly since 2014. She was Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements from 2014 to 2019. Mafu is a member of the African National Congress.
Zola Mlenzana is a South African politician. A former member of the Congress of the People,he was elected as a Permanent Delegate to the National Council of Provinces from the Eastern Cape in 2009. In 2014 he resigned from COPE and rejoined the African National Congress. Mlenzana was elected to the National Assembly in 2019.
Nomasonto Evelyn Motaung is a South African politician who was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the African National Congress in the 2019 national election. In March 2023,she was appointed as Deputy Minister in the Presidency.
Tebogo Josephine Mokwele is a South African politician who served in the National Assembly of South Africa from May to August 2019 as a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters party. Prior to serving in the National Assembly,Mokwele had been a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces from the North West from 2014 to 2019.
Yazini Tetyana is a South African politician who has served as a member of the National Assembly of South Africa since March 2023. He served in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature from 2019 until 2023. Tetyana was the provincial chairperson of the EFF from 2018 until 2022.