Helen Zille
Helen Zille was born on March 9, 1951. See ranking, bio blurb, and everyone else born that day.
About Helen Zille
Otta Helene Zille (; born 9 March 1951), known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance from October 2019 to April 2026. From 2009 until 2019, she was the Premier of the Western Cape province for two five-year terms, and a member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. She served as Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance from 2007 to 2015 and as Mayor of Cape Town from 2006 to 2009. Zille is a former journalist and anti-apartheid activist and was one of the journalists who exposed the cover-up around the death of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko while working for the Rand Daily Mail in the late 1970s. She also worked with the Black Sash and other pro-democracy groups during the 1980s. Zille speaks English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, and German. Following her departure from the premiership in May 2019, she joined the South African Institute of Race Relations as a senior policy fellow in July 2019, though she suspended her fellowship in October 2019. She started her own podcast, Tea with Helen, in August 2019. Zille has announced her intention to run for the mayorship of Johannesburg.