Memory Booysen

Memory Booysen (born 1969) is a South African politician who has been the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Health and Wellness in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since 2024. A member of the Democratic Alliance, he was elected to the provincial parliament in 2024.

Prior to his election to the Provincial Parliament, Booysen was involved in the politics of the Garden Route district of the Western Cape. He served as the mayor of the Bitou Local Municipality from 2011 until 2016 when he was elected the district mayor, a position he would hold until his election to the provincial legislature in 2024.

Early life and education Booysen was born to a Xhosa family 1969 in Hankey in what is today known as the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. His father, John Lolwana, had changed his surname to Booysen and convinced the apartheid authorities that he was a Coloured which allowed the family to settle in the predominantly Coloured community of Hankey. Following his father's death in 1980, the authorities evicted the family and they moved to Centerton, a Black community outside of Hankey. The DA formed a coalition with COPE to govern the municipality which saw Booysen elected as mayor of Bitou. He was re-elected for a second term as district mayor after the 2021 local elections.

In March 2024, it was announced that Booysen had been placed on the DA candidate list for the Western Cape Provincial Parliament for the election on 29 May 2024 amid allegations of misconduct. The DA won 24 seats in the provincial election and Booysen was selected to take up one of them. He resigned as Garden Route district mayor on 8 June and was sworn in as a member of the Provincial Parliament on 13 June 2024. On 4 July 2024, he was elected to chair the Standing Committee on Health and Wellness.

Personal life Booysen has three daughters.