Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi

Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi (; born 17 November 1964) is a South African politician who has been the leader of the Minority Front since 2012. She has represented the party in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature since 1999.

After two decades of practice as a pharmacist in Phoenix, Thakur-Rajbansi entered politics when she joined the Minority Front in 1998. In January 2012, she became leader of the party, succeeding her late husband, Amichand Rajbansi. Over the next two years, her position in the party was uncertain due to internal disputes with Rajbansi's family and Minority Front politician Roy Bhoola; those disputes were largely settled in December 2013, when all parties affirmed Thakur-Rajbansi's leadership.

Early life and career Thakur-Rajbansi was born on 17 November 1964 in Durban in the former Natal Province. Her parents were Devjeith Thakur, a teacher, and Betty Thakur, a housewife. Her paternal grandfather was an indentured mineworker of Indian origin.

Leader of the Minority Front: 2012–present

Leadership dispute: 2012–2013 Thakur-Rajbansi was appointed as interim leader of the MF in 2011 when Rajbansi fell ill. Shortly after his death, on 19 January 2012, the MF announced that its leadership had appointed Thakur-Rajbansi to succeed her husband as party president. She said that she would seek to continue Rajbansi's legacy, particularly by maintaining the party's staunch support for the protection of minority rights. Her stepson, Vimal Rajbansi, welcomed her appointment and said that the rest of Rajbansi's family would not be directly involved in the governance of the party. He said that he and his mother, Amichand Rajbansi's first wife Asha Devi, would avail themselves "to step in and save the party".

Among the matters of contention was an attempt by Thakur-Rajbansi to remove Roy Bhoola from his position as the MF's sole representative in the National Assembly; the move was later reversed by court order. A prolonged court battle followed in the Durban High Court. The dispute was not settled until December 2013, when the disputants announced that they had reached an out-of-court settlement, in terms of which all parties agreed to affirm Thakur-Rajbansi's presidency. The party lost its parliamentary representation in the 2014 general election, retaining only Thakur-Rajbansi's seat in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.

Personal life Thakur-Rajbansi was formerly married to a school teacher, Their first child died as an infant. Their second, a son born in 1991 and named Pradhil, had Addison's disease.

Thakur-Rajbansi remarried to Amichand Rajbansi on 30 March 2001 in Durban at a traditional Hindu ceremony that included speeches by politicians Faith Gasa and Margaret Rajbally. In addition to the family dispute over control of the MF , his death precipitated conflict over the execution his will. Although Thakur-Rajbansi was appointed as executor, her appointment was challenged in court by two of her stepdaughters; Rajbansi had written four wills between 2000 and 2010, and the most recent two versions excluded Thakur-Rajbansi from the executor position and from her trusteeship at the Amichand Rajbansi Family Trust.