Rapu Molekane

Rapulane Sydney Molekane (born 7 May 1961) is a South African diplomat, politician, and former anti-apartheid activist. He has been South African Ambassador to Austria since 2019. In that capacity, he also has non-resident accreditation to Slovenia and Slovakia and serves as South Africa's permanent representative to various international organisations in Vienna.

During apartheid, Molekane rose to political prominence as a leading figure in the students' movement in Soweto. A member of the United Democratic Front, he was president of the Soweto Youth Congress from 1984 to 1985 and founding general-secretary of the South African Youth Congress from 1987 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994, he was secretary-general of the newly relaunched African National Congress (ANC) Youth League under league president Peter Mokaba.

Molekane represented the ANC in the National Assembly during the first democratic Parliament from 1994 to 1999. Since becoming a career diplomat in 1999, he has served as Consul-General in Germany, High Commissioner to Ghana, and Ambassador to France.

Early life and activism Molekane was born on 7 May 1961 in White City, a neighbourhood of Jabavu in Soweto. His native language is Setswana; Molekane was elected as inaugural general-secretary of SAYCO,

National Assembly: 1994–1999 In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Molekane was elected to an ANC seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of the new South African Parliament. He chaired Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security. During this period, according to Molekane, he and a handful of other ANC representatives were handpicked by Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo to undergo diplomatic training and become career diplomats. he also has non-resident accreditation to Slovenia and Slovakia and represents South Africa at international organisations based in Vienna.

Personal life He is married and has four children.