Solly Rasmeni

Last updated

Rachel Rasmeni
​
(m. 1981)​
Solly Rasmeni
Member of the National Assembly
In office
June 1999 –May 2009

Solomon Mandlenkosi Rasmeni (born 17 September 1953) is a South African politician and former trade unionist. Formerly an organiser for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in the Western Transvaal, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2009. Before that, he was a member of the North West caucus of the Senate during the first democratic Parliament.

Contents

Early life and union activism

Rasmeni was born on 17 September 1953 [1] in Sterkspruit in the former Cape Province. [2] He was a mineworker in the Western Transvaal, from 1975 in Klerksdrop, where he worked at Vaal Reefs. [2] He was a founding member of the NUM and later worked for it as a regional organiser. He and his wife were also active in Congress-aligned civic organising against apartheid. [2]

Due to his activism, he was the subject of harassment and attacks, including pursuit by a vigilante mob in 1986 and two separate bombing attacks on his home in Jouberton in 1990 and 1991. [2] [3] He was also arrested on several occasions. [2] Most proximately, he was arrested on 30 December 1990 and detained without trial for two weeks; he and others detained with him sustained a hunger strike throughout their detention. [4] Also in the early 1990s, after the ANC was unbanned by the apartheid government, he served as the party's regional chairperson in the Western Transvaal. [2]

Legislative career

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Rasmeni was elected to represent the ANC in the North West caucus of the Senate, [5] [6] though he left his seat before the end of the legislative term. [7] In the next general election in 1999, he was elected to the National Assembly, [1] and he served two terms, gaining re-election in 2004; [8] he was highly ranked on the ANC's party list on both occasions: second on the North West list in 1999 and first in 2004. He left Parliament after the 2009 general election.

Personal life

He married Rachel Rasmeni in 1981. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fish Mahlalela</span> South African politician

Amos Fish Mahlalela is a South African politician from Mpumalanga. He has been the Deputy Minister of Tourism since May 2019 and has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly since May 2014. In June 2023, he was additionally elected as the Provincial Chairperson of the ANC Veterans' League in Mpumalanga.

Ephraim Phumuga Mogale was a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist. The inaugural president of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), he was an underground operative for Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in the Northern Transvaal and was imprisoned on Robben Island from 1980 to 1985. After the end of apartheid, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly and Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature.

Letsau Nelson Diale was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist from Limpopo. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1956 and served eight years' imprisonment on Robben Island, from 1964 to 1972, for his work with Umkhonto we Sizwe. After the end of apartheid, he represented the ANC in the National Council of Provinces from 1994 to 1999 and in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2014.

Cikizwa Ivy Gcina was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2009. During apartheid, she was a prominent figure in community organising in Port Elizabeth, particularly through the United Democratic Front and the Port Elizabeth Women's Organisation, the women's wing of the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation.

Jan Lodewyk Hoek Serfontein is a South African politician and commercial farmer who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1997 and then in the North West Provincial Legislature from 1997 to 2009. From 2007 to 2009, he served as the North West's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Agriculture, Conservation and Environment under Premier Edna Molewa.

Zamiwonga James Kati was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly until his death in 2006. He joined the ANC in 1949 and was a member of the Umkhonto we Sizwe underground in the Transkei.

Ntsiza John Gogotya is a South African politician, businessman, and former minister who served in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2009. He represented the National Party (NP) until March 1999, when he defected to the African National Congress (ANC). He is known as the founder of the apartheid-era Federal Independent Democratic Alliance, a black moderate group which opposed majority rule in South Africa and which was later revealed to have been a client of military intelligence.

Thembinkosi Samson Khoza was a South African politician who represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the National Assembly from 1994 until his death in May 2000. He was a former leader of the IFP's Youth Brigade and served as the party's leader in Gauteng province. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was credited with expanding the IFP's political presence in the Transvaal.

Aubrey Dundubela Mokoena was a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2014, excepting a brief hiatus in 2009. He served the Gauteng constituency and chaired the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs from 1999 to 2002.

Joseph Ntshikiwane Mashimbye is a South African diplomat and former politician. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2004. Since leaving Parliament, he has served as South African Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, and Egypt.

Lekoba Jack Tolo was a South African politician and Christian minister. He was a Member of Parliament from 1994 until his death in 2011 and served in both the Senate and the National Assembly. He represented the African National Congress until 2009, when he defected to the Congress of the People. He died in August 2011 in an armed robbery.

Stefanus Petrus Grové is a retired South African politician from Mpumalanga. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) from 1994 to 1999 and in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2004.

Ratshivhanda Samson Ndou is a South African politician and former trade unionist. During apartheid, he was a prominent member of a network of Charterist union organisers in the Transvaal, as well as a founding member of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and president of the General and Allied Workers' Union (GAWU).

Piet Mohlamme Mathebe was a South African politician and the traditional leader of Limpopo's Bantwane tribe. Known in the later capacity as Mohlamme III, he led the tribal authority from 1992 until his death in 2020.

Mdumiseni Richard Sikakane, also spelled Richard Sikhakhane, was a South African politician and stalwart of the African National Congress (ANC). He joined Umkhonto weSizwe in 1963 and was involved in its underground structures in the Greater Durban area for the next three decades. After the end of apartheid, he represented the ANC in the National Assembly for three terms from 1994 to 2009.

Alpheus Mokabhe "Ali" Maziya was a South African politician and activist from Gauteng. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2007 and later from 2009 to 2014. He was also the party's defence whip from 2010 to 2014.

Aumsensingh "Omie" Singh is a South African politician and businessman from KwaZulu-Natal. From 2014 to 2019, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Council of Provinces, where he co-chaired Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests. Before that, he served in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature from 2001 to 2014 and in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2001. Having entered politics as a member of the Democratic Party (DP), he joined the ANC by floor-crossing in March 2003.

Daniel Pieter Antonie "Danie" Schutte is a South African politician and lawyer who was the last Minister of Home Affairs of the apartheid era from 1993 to 1994. He represented the National Party (NP) both in the apartheid-era House of Assembly and in the post-apartheid National Assembly.

Sediane Danny "Sechaba" Montsitsi was a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist. One of the leaders of the 1976 Soweto uprising, he later represented the African National Congress in Parliament from 1994 to 2014.

Frans Tlokwe Maserumule is a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly, serving the Limpopo constituency, from 1999 to 2009 and later from 2010 to 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa . Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Human Rights Violations". Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 23 September 1996. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Rasmeni, Solomon Mandlenkosi". Truth Commission Special Report. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Further information on UA 03/91 (AFR 53/01/91, 9 January) – South Africa: legal / health concern: George Molaioa, Henry Moleme, Tsidiso Ntaopane, Solomon Rasmeni". Amnesty International. 24 January 1991. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. ↑ South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994. International Republican Institute. 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2023– via Yumpu.
  6. ↑ "Another Bar On Media". The Mail & Guardian. 16 September 1994. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Members of the National Council of Provinces". Parliament of South Africa. 5 December 1998. Archived from the original on 5 December 1998. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa . Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.