Mangosuthu Buthelezi

The Honourable Prince

Mangosuthu Buthelezi
The Honourable Prince; Mangosuthu Buthelezi
	Buthelezi in 1983
Minister of Home Affairs
	In office; 10 May 1994 – 13 July 2004
President	Nelson Mandela; Thabo Mbeki;
Preceded by	Danie Schutte
Succeeded by	Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
	In office; 29 April 1994 – 9 September 2023
Constituency	KwaZulu Natal
President of the Inkatha Freedom Party
	In office; 21 March 1975 – 25 August 2019
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Velenkosini Hlabisa
Preceded by
Bantustan offices 1970‍–‍1977
Chief Minister of KwaZulu
	In office; 1 February 1977 – 26 April 1994
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Chief Executive Councillor of KwaZulu
	In office; April 1972 – 31 January 1977
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Chief Executive Officer of the Zululand Territorial Authority
	In office; 9 June 1970 – 1 April 1972
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Monarch
Tribal offices 1953‍–‍2023
Traditional Prime Minister Template:Awrap
	In office; 1954–2023
Monarch	Cyprian Bhekuzulu; Goodwill Zwelithini; Misuzulu Zulu;
Preceded by	Inkosi Mathole Buthelezi
Inkosi of the Buthelezi Clan in Mahlabathini
	In office; 1953–2023
Preceded by	Inkosi Mathole Buthelezi
Personal details
Born	Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi; 27 August 1928; Mahlabathini, Natal, South Africa
Died	9 September 2023 (aged 95); Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Political party	IFP
Other political; affiliations	African National Congress
Spouse(s)	Irene Audrey Thandekile Mzila; (m. 1952; died 2019)
Children	8, including Sibuyiselwe Angela
Residence	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Occupation	Activist; politician; traditional leader;
Known for	Founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP, 1975)
House	Zulu
Religion	Anglican

Mangosuthu Buthelezi (27 August 1928 – 9 September 2023) was a South African politician and Zulu tribal leader. He founded the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 1975 and was Chief Minister of the KwaZulu bantustan until 1994. He was Minister of Home Affairs of South Africa from 1994 to 2004. His praise name was Shenge.

During the CODESA negotiations of the early 1990s, he represented the IFP. Following the introduction of the universal franchise in the 1994 general election, Buthelezi led the IFP to join the government of national unity, led by Nelson Mandela. Buthelezi served as Minister of Home Affairs until 2004. He continued to serve as both leader of the IFP and an MP, retaining his seat in the 2014 general election.

In 1964 he played King Cetshwayo kaMpande (his own maternal great-grandfather) in the movie Zulu.

Buthelezi died on 9 September at his home in Ulundi, South Africa at the age of 95.^[1]^[2]

Mangosuthu Buthelezi Media

Map showing the location of KwaZulu (red) in South Africa. The bantustan comprised pockets of land dispersed throughout Natal province. Ingwavuma was the northernmost.
Buthelezi (seated) with members of the European Parliament
Men with traditional Zulu weapons. Buthelezi insisted on the right of KwaZulu residents to carry such weapons for purposes of self-defence.
The Caprivi Strip, where some Inkatha members were trained by the apartheid military in the 1980s
Nelson Mandela with South African president F. W. de Klerk in 1992. Buthelezi came to feel that he was sidelined as Mandela and de Klerk negotiated the abolition of apartheid.
Map showing the IFP's share of votes per district in the 1994 election. Support for the IFP was concentrated in KwaZulu-Natal (dark red).
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini in Ulundi, 2011
Mangosuthu Buthelezi in 2018