Mamphela Ramphele

Mamphela Ramphele is a physician, academic, political thinker, and above all an agent for change. A co-founder of the Black Consciousness Movement with Steve Biko, she was a leading voice in the fight for justice, dignity, and liberation during one of South Africa’s most repressive eras. Together with her friends Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, she played a pivotal role in the anti-apartheid struggle. She was detained without trial by the apartheid regime, but she continued her activism through community health and education initiatives. Post-1994, Ramphele became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town — the first black woman to hold the position — and later served as one of the managing directors at the World Bank. She is the co-founder of ReimagineSA (SA for South Africa), tirelessly advocating for human rights, governance reform and ethical leadership, and thus remains a powerful voice in South Africa’s post-apartheid evolution. Through her writing and public engagement, Ramphele continues to challenge systems of inequality and inspire new generations of African leadership grounded in justice and accountability. An adherent of the Ubuntu philosophy, she reaches beyond the borders of South Africa with her efforts: she served as the co-president of the Club of Rome between 2018 and 2023 and inspires audiences all around the world with her lectures and publications. Among her books are Laying Ghosts to Rest: Dilemmas of the Transformation in South Africa (2008) and the autobiographical A Passion for Freedom: My Life (2013).