Biography

Mr. Tito Titus Mboweni was born on March 16, 1959, in Tzaneen, a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (honours equivalent) degree in Economics and Political Science from the National University of Lesotho in 1985 and a Master of Arts degree in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia in England in 1987.

Before his appointment as South Africa’s youngest Minister of Labour in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, Mr. Mboweni served as Deputy Head of the Department of Economic Policy in the African National Congress (ANC) and represented the ANC on numerous domestic and international platforms. He went on to become the eighth Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) from 1999 to 2009, having joined the SARB in 1998 as an advisor to the Governor.

In the years following his public service, Mr. Mboweni held several prominent roles in the private sector. He was the Regional Advisor for Goldman Sachs, Chairperson of Accelerate Property Fund, non-executive chairman of Nampak Ltd and SacOil Holdings Ltd, and a non-executive director of Discovery Ltd. He was also deeply committed to philanthropic work, serving as a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust and chairman of the trust’s fundraising committee, as well as a trustee of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation.

Mr. Mboweni was an honorary professor at both Wits and Stellenbosch Universities and held numerous honorary qualifications and academic positions. He was awarded five honorary doctorates and, at the time of his passing, served as the Chairperson of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), a Think To Do tank based in Accra, Ghana. His remarkable legacy of leadership, service, and dedication to South Africa’s economic and social development continues to inspire.