Pravin Gordhan, a renowned anti-apartheid activist and former Finance Minister of South Africa, has passed away at the age of 75, his family confirmed on Friday.
Gordhan, who was admitted to the hospital on September 10, succumbed to his illness early on Friday, after “a short, courageous battle with cancer”, his family said in a statement.
The statement added that he was “surrounded by his family, closest friends and his lifelong comrades in the liberation struggle when he passed away in the early hours this morning”.
Gordhan played a pivotal role in South Africa’s transition to democracy and was a key negotiator at the end of white-minority rule.
Gordhan has held various top government and administrative positions since the 1990s. He served as Finance Minister from 2009 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2017.
The former Finance Minister also held various other ministerial positions, including Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Minister of Public Enterprises.
He was credited with turning around the South African Revenue Service and making it a credible institution.
Born in Durban in 1949 to Indian immigrant parents, he became involved in the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1970s and was jailed several times for his activism.
He co-chaired the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) in 1991, which negotiated the end of apartheid and the establishment of a democratic government.
As Finance Minister, Gordhan was seen as a competent and stabilizing force, encouraging discipline and stability at the treasury. He was a prominent figure in the fight against state capture and corruption.
Gordhan was sacked as Finance Minister in 2017, but continued to serve in various roles, including Public Enterprises Minister, where he tackled corruption in state-owned enterprises.
He announced his retirement from politics in May 2024 and had kept a low profile since then.
“I have no regrets, no regrets… We have made our contribution,” Gordhan said in a farewell message before his death.
President Cyril Ramaphosa described Gordhan as an outstanding leader and a beacon of the fight against corruption, urging the country to remember his personal sacrifices from his anti-apartheid activism days to his retirement from active politics.
South Africa President Ramaphosa said: “We have lost an outstanding leader whose unassuming persona belied the depth of intellect, integrity and energy with which he undertook his activism, his duty as a parliamentarian and his roles as a member of Cabinet.
“Pravin Gordhan’s personal sacrifices and his endeavours and achievements in various sectors of our society endowed him with the insights, empathy and resilience that fuelled his service to the nation.
“In the latter years of this service to the nation, and as a beacon of our fight against corruption, Pravin Gordhan stood up to derision and threats emanating from some in our nation who were scorched by his insistence that justice be dispensed against those who sought to undermine our democracy and raid our public resources and assets.”
He is survived by his wife Vanitha and their daughters Anisha and Priyesha.