John Steenhuisen Minister of Agriculture in GNA - June 2024
John Henry Steenhuisen - born 25 March 1976) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister of Agriculture since June 2024. He has been the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) since November 2020, having served as the interim leader for one year from November 2019. He served as the twentieth leader of the Opposition from October 2019 to June 2024. Pursuant to the 2024 South African general election, he was appointed to the third cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa when the DA joined the Government of National Unity (GNU).[1]
Born in Durban, he matriculated from Northwood Boys' High School. Steenhuisen joined the Democratic Party and was elected to the Durban City Council in 1999 as the councillor for Durban North. In 2000, the Democratic Alliance was formed, and he was elected as a councillor of the newly formed eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in that year's municipal election. He was appointed as the DA's caucus leader in 2006.
After the 2009 elections, he became a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature and was appointed the DA's caucus leader. Soon after, Steenhuisen was elected as the party's KwaZulu-Natal provincial leader, a position he held until he resigned in October 2010, amid an extramarital affair. He joined the National Assembly in July 2011, and he became the Shadow Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in February 2012 following his appointment by Lindiwe Mazibuko.
In 2014, Steenhuisen was appointed Chief Whip of the Official Opposition by Mmusi Maimane, the newly elected DA Parliamentary Leader and Leader of the Official Opposition. He served as Chief Whip until October 2019, when Maimane resigned as the official opposition leader and party leader. Shortly afterwards, Steenhuisen was elected unopposed to replace him as the Leader of the Opposition. In November 2019, he was elected interim leader of the DA, after he defeated Makashule Gana, a DA MPL in Gauteng. A year later, he was elected leader for a full term at the party's Federal Congress, defeating Mbali Ntuli, a DA MPL from KwaZulu-Natal. He was re-elected to another term as party leader on 2 April 2023. In the 2024 general election, the DA won 87 seats. As the ANC was denied a majority, the two parties and several smaller parties formed a national unity government, resulting with Cyril Ramaphosa being re-elected President of South Africa. Steenhuisen was subsequently appointed Minister of Agriculture on 3 July 2024.
