Werner Horn

Werner Horn (born 12 May 1970) is a South African lawyer and politician who has been one of three House Chairpersons in the National Assembly of South Africa since July 2024. He has served as a Member of Parliament since May 2014 and before that, he was a councillor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality between 2006 and 2014. Horn is a member of the Democratic Alliance.

Career Local politics Horn is a member of the Democratic Alliance. He was elected as a councillor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in March 2006. He was re-elected to a second term in May 2011.

Parliamentary career Horn was elected to the National Assembly in the 7 May 2014 general election. He became an MP on 21 May 2014. He represents the Free State Province.

During his first term as an MP, he served as an Alternate Member of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development. He still serves on the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services.

Horn was appointed the DA's additional national spokesperson on 21 April 2023, following Cilliers Brink's election as Tshwane mayor the previous month.

Having been re-elected to Parliament in the 2024 general election, Horn was elected as one of three House Chairpersons of the National Assembly on 9 July 2024.

Provincial politics On 14 November 2020, Horn was elected to succeed Annelie Lotriet as the provincial chairperson of the DA in the Free State. He was re-elected as provincial chairperson in 2023 before standing down in 2026. 2026 campaign for DA Federal Council Chairperson After incumbent DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille announced her intention to stand down at the party's Federal Congress in April 2026, Horn announced his candidacy for the position. He was defeated by Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen on 12 April 2026.