Former minister in the presidency Essop Pahad has passed away. He was 84-years-old.
Pahad had served in government for many years before he left after former president Thabo Mbeki was recalled in 2008.
He had served as a member of the ANC in Parliament after the 1994 elections.
He was Mbeki’s parliamentary counsellor and was appointed minister in the presidency when Mbeki assumed the presidency in 1999.
He was also a member of the ANC National Executive Committee and member of the SACP for years.
Pahad was 84 years at the time of his passing.
Pahad joined the struggle from a young age and he went into exile years later.
He was born in Schweizer-Reneke in what is now the North West province.
He studied at Wits University and Sussex.
But his political career began when he was involved with the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress in the late 1950s.
After a few years he went into exile where he joined his other comrades during the fight for freedom.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
IOL Politics