Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician, Chief Minister of KwaZulu
Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (born 27 August 1928) is a South African politician and Zulu tribal leader who founded what became the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 1975, and was Chief Minister of the KwaZulu bantustan until 1994. He was Minister of Home Affairs of South Africa from 1994 to 2004. He is often referred to as Shenge, which is part of the Buthelezi clan praises. Buthelezi, a member of Zulu royalty, is also the Traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu nation.
Throughout most of the apartheid era, Buthelezi was considered one of the foremost black leaders. He played a key role in creating a framework for a negotiated solution to South Africa's racial conflict, signing the landmark Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith in 1974 with Harry Schwarz. During the CODESA negotiations of the early 1990s, he represented the Inkatha. Following the introduction of the universal suffrage in the 1994 general election, Buthelezi led the IFP to join the government of national unity, led by Nelson Mandela. Buthelezi served as Minister of Home Affairs until 2004. He continued to serve as both leader of the IFP and an MP, retaining his seat in the 2014 general election.
On 20 January 2019, Buthelezi announced that he would not seek re-election to another term as party president of the IFP. The party elected Velenkosini Hlabisa as his successor at the party's 2019 National General Conference.Buthelezi played King Cetshwayo kaMpande (his own maternal great-grandfather) in the film Zulu (1964).