Jessie Duarte’s bio: age, children, siblings, party and demise
Jessie Duarte was one of South Africa's fierce female politicians. History remembers her for being Nelson Mandela's personal assistant when he became South Africa's first Black president. Her late brother was a prominent ANC politician in SA. You can find out more about Jessie Duarte's life below, including her cause of death.
Source: UGC
Jessie Duarte was among the oldest and most influential ANC members. She was part of this political party for around 30 years. Duarte played a key role in ANC's growth and held numerous top political positions in the country, including being an SA ambassador to Mozambique.
Profile summary
| Full name | Jessie Yasmin Duarte |
| Famous as | ANC's Jessie |
| Birth date | 19 September 1953 |
| Birthplace | Coronationville, Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Ethnicity | Indian |
| Alma mater | Coronationville Secondary School in Johannesburg |
| Career | Politician and anti-apartheid activist |
| Political party | African National Congress (ANC) |
| Position at ANC | Deputy secretary-general |
| Father | Ebrahim Dangor |
| Mother | Julie Dangor |
| Siblings | 8 |
| Known siblings | Brothers Zane Dangor and the late Achmat Dangor |
| Ex-spouse | John Duarte |
| Sons | 1 |
| Daughters | 1 |
| No. of grandchildren | Unknown |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Died | 17 July 2022 |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Age | 68 years (at the time of death) |
| Place of death | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Burial site | Westpark Cemetery, Johannesburg, South Africa |
| @ANCDSGDuarte |
Jessie Duarte's biography
Jessie Yasmin Duarte was born on 19th September 1953 in Coronationville, Johannesburg. Her parents, Julie and Ebrahim Dangor, raised her in nearby Westbury and Newclare alongside her eight siblings.
Two of Jessie Duarte's siblings, Zane Dangor and the late Achmat Dangor, are famous for their striking resemblance. Achmat was a poet, global award-winning author, ANC political activist, and former CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. He died in September 2020 at age 71.
What nationality was Jessie Duarte?
She was a South African citizen.
What race was Jessie Duarte?
She hailed from an Indian family with Muslim religious roots.
How old was Jessie Duarte?
Jessie Duarte's age was 68 years at the time of death, which was 17 July 2022.
Who was Jessie Duarte married to?
Jessie Duarte’s husband was John Duarte. They divorced in 2001 and had two children.
Source: UGC
Jessie Duarte's children
Her children's names are unknown to the public. Jessie Duarte's son owns an IT company. She refuted Lumkile Mondi's claims in 2018 that children were associated with the controversial Gupta family. Jessie acknowledged that her son-in-law, Ian Whitley, accepted a chief-of-staff job offer from the then-minister of finance.
Jessie Duarte's educational background
She attended Coronationville Secondary School.
Jessie Duarte's career history
Duarte Jessie was a management accountant before becoming a politician and anti-apartheid activist. In 1979, Walter Sisulu's wife, Albertina Sisulu, appointed her to establish women's structures throughout SA. She was appointed the provincial secretary of the Federation of Transvaal Women (FEDTRAW) in 1981.
During that period, she worked with Reverend Beyers Naudé, which gave anti-apartheid activists scholarships and training to become public servants. The colonial government arrested Jessie in 1988 without trial and placed her under restriction orders. She was released after lifting the state of emergency.
In 1990, Duarte was elected to the Gauteng Provincial Executive Council. She was appointed to ANC's Interim Leadership Core, and the Gauteng Provincial government selected her as the MEC for Safety and Security in Gauteng in 1994.
Jessie was the personal assistant of South African anti-apartheid activist and ANC member Walter Sisulu until 1994. He was ANC secretary-general and deputy-president at different times of his political career and was detained on Robben Island for over 25 years.
Source: UGC
Nelson Mandela spent over 27 years in prison, including the years he stayed at Robben Island prison. He became ANC's deputy president in 1990, shortly after getting out of jail.
Mandela became the party's president in 1991, and Duarte became his personal assistant in 1994 when he was elected as the country's president. President Nelson Mandela served in South Africa's presidential office till 1999. Jessie served in ANC's Regional Executive Committee between 1991 and 1994 and the party's national executive committee from 1997 to 1999.
In 1998, it was alleged she used the taxpayers' money to take her lover on a Portugal trip. Duarte quit her position as Safety and Security MEC when a commission investigated suspicions of causing an accident while driving without a license.
Duarte admitted to using an official car without a driving license. She, however, maintained people in her department claimed it was her bodyguard driving at the time. She allegedly gave the investigating committee a fraudulent document containing the claim in person.
Jessie Duarte was a diplomat and SA's ambassador to Mozambique from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, she was appointed as ANC's National Spokesperson. Jessie was also the Chief Operations Officer in the Presidency of SA's government, a position she resigned from in 2010.
In December 2012, she was appointed as ANC's deputy secretary-general during the 53rd national conference in Mangaung. Jessie was re-elected for the same office in 2017 at the party's 54th national conference in Nasrec.
On 7 January 2021, she announced plans to retire from the position at the party's 2022 conference. In 2021, the lady was accused of tolerating corruption within government structures.
Jessie Duarte's ex-husband, John Duarte, was among the people associated with contracts Jacob Zuma's government commission was investigating. Her son was also accused of receiving money from a company that got government tenders.
Source: UGC
When did Jessie Duarte pass on?
ANC gave Jessie Duarte sick leave in 2022 for many months. Her absence from public party events stirred false claims of her death. Duarte revealed she had cancer on 24 April 2022 and died on 17 July 2022 at age 68.
Where is Jessie Duarte?
Her funeral was held as per the Muslim rites on the same day. President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy before she was buried at Westpark Cemetery.
Movies featuring part of Jessie Duarte's political activism include Mandela, Nelson Mandela Redrawn, and Viva Nelson Mandela: A Hero for All Seasons.
Facts about Jessie Duarte
- In 2009, she supported ANC's plans for a Media Appeals Tribunal in SA. The public believed the policy unconstitutional, for it interfered with the media's right to free speech.
- In the same year, Jessie blamed SA's media for portraying Jacob Zuma in a negative light.
- In 2014, Jewish groups within South Africa criticized her for publicly comparing Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Nazi's actions in Germany.
- In 2019, she accused the ANC of being tribalistic and racist towards non-black African members and voters.
What did Jessie Duarte do?
ANC's Jessie Duarte was an anti-apartheid activist and Nelson Mandela's special assistant. She was also a member of the provincial cabinet (MEC) for Gauteng and an SA ambassador to Mozambique.
Duarte was ANC's spokesperson before assuming the deputy secretary-general post in 2012, a position she served till her death on 17 July 2022. She left behind children, grandchildren, siblings, and relatives.
Source: UGC
What were Jessie Duarte's qualifications?
She matriculated from Coronationville Secondary School in Johannesburg and started her professional career as a Management Accountant.
What was Jessie Duarte's party?
She was one of the oldest and most active members of the African National Congress.
Who is the secretary of ANC?
ANC suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule in 2021 over corruption charges. The late Jessie Duarte was his deputy. ANC's current acting secretary-general is Paul Mashatile. The deputy secretary-general position is vacant as of this writing.
Mzansi will forever remember Jessie Duarte as one of the toughest female politicians in South Africa. She was among the few Indian anti-apartheid activists in the country and is acknowledged for her contributions to the African National Congress party.
READ ALSO: Jolidee Matongo: age, education, qualifications, career, corruption
Briefly.co.za shared a short history about Jolidee Matongo. The South African politician was the Johannesburg mayor from 10 August 2021 until his demise on 18 September 2021.
Jolidee Matongo was a member of the mayoral finance committee under his predecessor, Geoff Makhubo. Geoff died from COVID-19 complications, while Matongo died in a car crash.
Source: Briefly News
Priscillah Mueni (Lifestyle writer) Priscillah Mueni is a lifestyle and entertainment content creator with more than 4 years of experience. She graduated from Meru University of Science and Technology with a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering in 2019. In 2023, Priscillah finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. She has been writing articles on Briefly.co.za since 2019. Email: pshmueni@gmail.com
Peris Walubengo (Lifestyle writer) Peris Walubengo is a content creator with 5 years of experience writing articles, researching, editing, and proofreading. She has a Bachelor of Commerce & IT from the University of Nairobi and joined Briefly.co.za in November 2019. The writer completed a Google News Initiate Course. She covers bios, marketing & finance, tech, fashion & beauty, recipes, movies & gaming reviews, culture & travel. You can email her at perisrodah254@gmail.com.
