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

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.

How we know this

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: 12 October 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 12 October 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 12 Oct. 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.