Helen Zille, former leader of the Democratic Alliance, is born in Johannesburg

Date: 9 Mar 1951
Updated: 5 Mar 2020

Helen Zille studied at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Transvaal (now Gauteng) where she obtained a BA Degree. She went on to become a prominent journalist in the 1970s and 1980s. Zille became well-known after she exposed the real circumstances behind the death of Black Consciousness Movement leader Steve Biko. In the 1980s she joined the anti-Apartheid organisation the Black Sash. In the 1990s Zille joined the Democratic Party (now the Democratic Alliance). She became a member of parliament and was elected mayor of the Western Cape, where the Democratic Alliance dominated. In 2007 she was elected leader of the DA, a position she maintained until 2015 when she was replaced by Mmusi Maimane. She is married to Professor John Maree and they have two sons.

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01SAHO, Helen Zille, from South African History Online, [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 14 March 2014]
02Cape Town Government, Helen Zille, from Cape Town Government, [online], Available at www.capetown.gov.za [Accessed: 14 March 2014]

Last updated · 5 Mar 2020

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2014, March 6). Helen Zille, former leader of the Democratic Alliance, is born in Johannesburg. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097174

South African History Online (2014) 'Helen Zille, former leader of the Democratic Alliance, is born in Johannesburg', South African History Online, 6 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097174 (Accessed: 27 August 2026).

South African History Online, Helen Zille, former leader of the Democratic Alliance, is born in Johannesburg [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097174, (accessed 27 August 2026).

"Helen Zille, former leader of the Democratic Alliance, is born in Johannesburg." South African History Online, 6 Mar. 2014, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097174. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Helen Zille, former leader of the Democratic Alliance, is born in Johannesburg." South African History Online. March 6, 2014. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097174.