Johannesburg: Pravin Gordhan, a veteran Indian-origin South African politician and anti-apartheid activist, died at a hospital here on Friday after a brief battle with cancer, his family said.
Gordhan, 75, had been in South African politics since 1994 when the country was transitioning to democracy.
Barely four months ago, he had announced that he was retiring from active politics to spend more time with his family.
The former Cabinet minister died early Friday in hospital after "a short, courageous battle with cancer", his family said in a statement.
He was "surrounded by his family, closest friends and his lifelong comrades in the liberation struggle" when he passed away in the early hours of Friday, the statement said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa lauded Gordhan, a long-time member of the African National Congress party, as an outstanding leader and a beacon of the fight against corruption.
"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,” said Ramaphosa as he offered his condolences to Gordhan’s wife Vanitha Raju, daughters Anisha and Priyesha.
Gordhan’s personal sacrifices and his endeavours and achievements in various sectors of South African society endowed him with the insights, empathy and resilience that fuelled his service to the nation, he said.
“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,” Ramaphosa.
He recalled how Gordhan had been fired in his initial days as a trained pharmacist from a state hospital for his opposition to apartheid.
Defend Our Democracy (DoD), a South African NGO, described Gordhan as an outstanding revolutionary and leading intellectual in the South African liberation movement.
“His sterling service to the cause of our people’s freedom saw him as a student and civic activist; a leader in the Natal Indian Congress and United Democratic Front, a courageous and dedicated cadre in the ANC underground, and finally, a public representative and minister of the highest quality in the democratic government over the past three decades,” DoD said.
Internationally renowned Indian-origin South African filmmaker Anant Singh lauded Gordhan as “a man of integrity”.
“Gordhan’s commitment to the nation was unwavering. He fought state capture and remained dedicated to creating a better life for all South Africans. His remarkable courage, tenacity and commitment to our country, and our people, has been an inspiration to me personally and to all who knew him well,” Singh said.
In 2010, Gordhan received the Pravasi Bhartiya Award, India’s highest honour for overseas Indians, from then-President Pratibha Patil.
Gordhan was co-chairman of the Transitional Executive Council that was formed after the release of Nelson Mandela as a political prisoner of the white minority apartheid government. This led to Mandela becoming the country’s first democratically-elected President in 1994.
He served two terms as minister of finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017. He also served as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2014 until 2015. His last position was as minister of public enterprises, overseeing embattled state-owned enterprises reeling from state capture and corruption.
It was as Commissioner of the South African Revenue Services for a decade from 1999 that Gordhan first received global recognition for developing the tax collection agency into a world-class service. He was also chairman of the World Customs Organisation from 2000 to 2006.