Winkie Direko - A political leader in her own right?

Abstract

To record merely that Winkie Direko, present premier of the Free State Province, was born on 27 November 1929 in Bochabela (Mangaung) and to an average family, will be an inadequate prelude to assessing her community and political life, which had an impact on her political career. Her entry into full-time party politics after the April 1994 first non-racial democratic election in South Africa caused a great stir in the Free State Province, and no one ever expected that she would rise to the premiership position after June 1999. This article attempts to provide an accurate, scientific and historical assessment of Direko as a political leader in her own right amid serious criticisms levelled against her before and after her appointment as the province's premier. The article, however, does not tend to adopt a defensive stance for Direko, but rather to answer a repeatedly asked question in the political circles of the Free State Province on whether Direko is a political leader or not.