Constance Simelane

Constance Simelane (14 October 1942 – 13 July 2025) was an Eswatini politician who rose to become the first female Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Swaziland. Appointed to the Senate in 2001, Simelane became Minister of Education in 2003. In October 2006 Simelane was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by King Mswati III, succeeding Albert Shabangu who had died a month earlier.

Personal history Simelane was born to Funwako Simelane, a teacher from Swaziland and his wife Judith (née LaNkonyane). Judith, who was born in Amsterdam, Mpumalanga in South Africa, met Funwako, who was originally from the KoNtshingila community of Shiselweni while he was teaching at Kington High School in Vryheid, South Africa. She has two other sisters, Nomcebo and Zandile and two brothers, Dumisa and Sifiso. From Chicago she undertook a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington before studying advanced purchasing strategies in Austria.

Simelane worked as a credit researcher in Chicago. Before moving back to Swaziland where she took on the role of assistant secretary in the Deputy Prime Minister's Office. She then moved to Ethiopia where she worked for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa. She was given the post of minister of education from the date of her appointment. With a national HIV infection rate of roughly 40%, the highest in the world, many children fell under the category that Simelane was attempting to address. She also called upon pregnant girls to be re-admitted to education, as since independence in 1968, standard practice was to expel girls from school if they became pregnant. Although not a governmental law, she gave her backing to the decision made by the Swaziland Schools Headteachers Association.

In 2006, following the death of Albert Shabangu, Simelane was given the position of Deputy Prime Minister, the first woman to hold the role.

Other appointments From 2004 to 2005 Simelane held the position of Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Death She died on 13 July 2025.