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Pallo Jordan

b. 1942

South African politician

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About Pallo Jordan

Born 1942. Pallo Jordan is a South African politician and minister.

Zweledinga Pallo Jordan (born 22 May 1942) is a South African politician. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, and was a cabinet minister from 1994 until 2009.

Early life Jordan is the son of the academics Archibald Campbell Jordan and Phyllis Ntantala-Jordan. Like his parents, Jordan was active in the Non-European Unity Movement against apartheid. He then joined the ANC and went into exile, studying in Britain and the United States.

Political career Jordan worked for the ANC in London and in African states. In 1982 he narrowly escaped the detonation of the letter bomb which the apartheid regime had sent to Ruth First and killed her.

In 1985, he was elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC). He served as administrative secretary of the NEC Secretariat (1985–1988), on the NEC's Strategy and Tactics Committee as convenor (1985–1989), on the NEC's sub-committee on negotiations and the NEC's sub-committee on Constitutional Guidelines and as the Director of Information and Publicity (1989).

Jordan returned to South Africa after the unbanning of the ANC in 1990. Having already participated in the 1987 negotiations in Senegal, he was also a negotiator in the CODESA.

2009 scandal According to his official biographies, he studied at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States and at the London School of Economics (LSE), but a newspaper investigation revealed that he did not complete his degree at Wisconsin–Madison. On 11 August 2014, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe announced that Jordan had resigned from Parliament and apologised to the ruling party after reports that his qualifications were false.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Positions held
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
Also known as
Zweledinga Pallo Jordan

Family & relationships

Parent
Archibald Campbell Jordan
Parent
Phyllis Ntantala-Jordan

People in Pallo Jordan's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Pallo Jordan's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Pallo Jordan?

South African politician

When was Pallo Jordan born?

Pallo Jordan was born on 22 May 1942 in Kroonstad.

What is Pallo Jordan's occupation?

Pallo Jordan is a politician and minister.

What nationality is Pallo Jordan?

Pallo Jordan is South African.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Pallo Jordan

· Wikidata: Q3361545

· DBpedia: Pallo Jordan

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Pallo Jordan. https://biography.guide/pallo-jordan/

MLA: "Pallo Jordan." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/pallo-jordan/.

Chicago: "Pallo Jordan." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/pallo-jordan/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-26 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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