Dr Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor is a South African leader with over three decades of public service. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2024, holding leadership roles including Deputy Chief Whip of the ANC in the National Assembly, Deputy Chairperson, and later Chairperson, of the National Council of Provinces. Across her Cabinet career, she held six portfolios: Education, Science and Technology (twice), Home Affairs, Higher Education and Training, and International Relations and Cooperation, the last from 2019 to 2024.
Since retiring from Parliament, Dr Pandor has taken on two prominent roles: Chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation (from October 2024, only the third person to hold the post) and Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University, installed in April 2026.
She holds a PhD from the University of Pretoria (2019), honorary doctorates from four universities across South Africa, Portugal, and Ireland, and was named Honorary Professor in Education at the University of Pretoria in 2025. Her international honours include Germany’s Grand Cross of Merit, Brazil’s Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco, Palestine’s Grand Star of the Order of Jerusalem, and France’s Légion d’Honneur. Her tenure is marked by South Africa’s SKA bid, Home Affairs’ Smart ID system, and the ICJ genocide case against Israel.