Pansy Tlakula

Adv. Pansy Tlakula is the Chief Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission of South Africa. She holds a B. Proc degree from the University of the North, an LLB degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and an LLM degree from Harvard University and an honorary doctorate in legal studies from the Vaal University of Technology. She is an admitted advocate of the High Court of South Africa. She joined the Electoral Commission in February 2002. Before that, she was a member of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for six years. During her period in office she served as the co-convenor of the first National Conference on Racism. She represented the SAHRC at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. She is also the former National Director of the Black Lawyers Association. She served as the Chairperson of the Council of the University of the North-West from 1997 to 2003. She is currently the chairperson of the board of the National Credit Regulator. She also serves on the Boards of a number of companies including the following: * The Bidvest Group Ltd, * Lehotsa Holdings (Pty) Ltd, and * National Credit Regulator (NCR). In July 2005, she was appointed as a member of the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights. Her portfolio in the Commission is the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa and she is also responsible for the Gambia, Mauritius, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zambia. Adv. Tlakula has received a number of awards including the Rapport / City Press Prestige Woman in 2006 and the 2007 CEO Magazine Most Influential Woman award in the category of Government and related institutions.