Thulisile Madonsela

Professor Thulisile Madonsela is the Law Trust Chair in Social Justice and Law Professor at the University of Stellenbosch. She was named amongst Time magazine’s 100 most influential People in the world in 2014. An Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, she served as South Africa’s Public Protector for seven years.  The Public Protector is an oversight institution mandated to support and strengthen democracy. She is one of the drafters of South Africa’s Constitution and co-architect of several laws that have sought to anchor South Africa’s democracy. Furthermore, she is a co-architect and Founding Chairperson of the African Ombudsman Research Centre, as well as, a co-founder and one of the inaugural leaders of the South African Women Lawyers Association. She is a remarkable African woman, a Pan Africanist visionary who has been a lifelong activist for social justice, constitutionalism, human rights, good governance and the rule of law, and was one of the drafters of the South African Constitution. In 2014 she was named among Time Magazine’s t 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2016 was Forbes Africa Person of the year. Thuli Madonsela is revered in the rest of Africa and globally for her integrity and fearlessness in enforcing accountability and justice in the exercise of public power and use of public resources. Her work has received national and global recognition, including several lifetime achievement awards. She has five honorary Doctor of Laws (LL D) degrees from the University of Cape Town, the University of the Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch University, the University of Fort Hare, and Rhodes University. She has had numerous other accolades, including the Law Society of South Africa’s Trust and Justice Award, the General Council of the Bar of South Africa’s Sydney and Felicia Kentridge Award, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association’s Truth and Justice Award, Transparency International’s Integrity Award, the German Africa Prize and African Anti-Corruption Crusader.