Pallo Jordan (born 22 May 1942 in Free State) is a renowned South African politician. He occupied the position of the ANC cabinet minister for 15 years (1994 – 2009).
Pallo also served as a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC).
Profile
| Name | Zweledinga Pallo Jordan |
| Born | 22 May 1942 (age 79 years) |
| Birthplace | Kroonstad, Free State |
| Birthday | May 22nd |
| Nationality |  South African |
| Gender | Male |
| Wife | Carlyn Roth |
| Profession | Politician |
Age
His date of birth is on 22 May 1942 and his place of birth is in Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Pallo Jordan is 79 years old. His birthday celebration comes up every year on May 22nd.
Background
He was born into the family of Archibald Campbell Jordan and Phyllis Ntantala-Jordan.
He followed the steps of his parents in the Non-European Unity Movement against apartheid.
Jordan started to sell copies of the newspaper produced by the NEUM, Torch when he was seven years old.
Pallo later joined the African National Congress (ANC) and went into exile. He had his studies in the United Kingdoms and the United States.
Wife
Pallo Jordan is married to Carlyn Roth, their union is blessed with a daughter.
Career
He worked for the African National Congress (ANC) in London and African States.
He made a narrow escape for his life after the detonation of the letter bomb was sent to Ruth First which ended up killing her in 1982.
Pallo was elected to serve as the African National Congress’ National Executive Committee in 1985.
For about four (4), from 1985 until 1989, he occupied the position of administrative secretary of the NEC Secretariat.
He was the convenor on the NEC’s Strategy and Tactics Committee and the NEC’s sub-committee on negotiations.
Pallo occupied the position of NEC’s sub-committee on Constitutional Guidelines. In 1989 he became the Director of Information and Publicity.
In 1990, following the unbanning of the ANC, he came back to South Africa.
He was active in the 1987 negotiations in Senegal and was a negotiator in CODESA.
In 1994, Pallo became a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly for the African National Congress after he was elected into the position.
For two (2) years, from 1994 to 1996, he served as the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Broadcasting.
Subsequently, he occupied the position of Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism for three years, 1996 to 1999.
He sat on the position of Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the National Assembly for 5 years (1999 – 2004).
Pallo became the Minister of Arts and Culture after President Thabo Mbeki appointed him to the position. He occupied the position for five years starting from April 2004 and ended in May 2009.
The “Dr. Pallo Jordan Primary School” situated in Lady Grey town, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa was named after him.
In 2009, he was forced to step down as Minister of Arts and Culture. This followed after it was discovered that he lied about his academic record.
