Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka – WPL Global Ambassador for Generation Equality

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women from August 2013 to August 2021. From 2005 to 2008, she served as Deputy President of South Africa. Prior to this, she served as Minister of Minerals and Energy from 1999 to 2005 and Deputy Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry from 1996 to 1999. She was a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 1996 as part of South Africa’s first democratic government. Mlambo-Ngcuka began her career as a teacher and gained international experience as a coordinator at the World YWCA in Geneva. A longtime champion of women’s rights, she is affiliated with several organizations devoted to education, women’s empowerment and gender equality. She completed her PhD in education and technology at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.