15 Things you don’t know about Trevor Manuel
1. Full name Trevor Andrew Manuel
2. Trevor Manuel was born on the 31st of January 1956 in Cape Town
3. Trevor Manuel’s mother, Philma van Söhnen, was a garment factory worker, and his father, Abraham James Manuel, was a draughtsman
4. Trevor Manuel matriculated in 1973 and studied Civil and Structural Engineering, and later, during his detention, law
5. Trevor Manuel entered public life in 1981 as the General Secretary of the Cape Areas Housing Action Committee, after which he became a National Executive member of the United Democratic Front (UDF)
6. On 15 August 1986 Trevor Manuel was again detained under the emergency regulations for almost two years until July 1988. He was released from detention under severe restrictions but promptly detained again in September 1988, this time until February 1989. His release came with stringent restriction orders
7. At the ANC’s first regional conference in 1990 Trevor Manuel was elected publicity secretary
8. At the ANC’s 1991 national conference Trevor Manuel was elected to the National Executive Committee
9. In 1992 Trevor Manuel became head of the ANC’s Department of Economic Planning. Trevor Manuel was elected as an ANC Member of Parliament in 1994 and was appointed by President Nelson Mandela as Minister of Trade and Industry; two years later, in 1996, he was moved to the post of Minister of Finance.
10. The World Economic Forum selected Trevor Manuel as a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” in 1994, and he has received numerous international awards and recognition for his accomplishments
11. Trevor Manuel is regarded highly by a broad section of the South African public and is widely viewed as one of the most competent South African ministers
12. In April 2008 Trevor Manuel was announced chancellor of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
13. In September 2008, the International Monetary Fund commissioned a “Committee on IMF Governance Reform”, to be chaired by Manuel
14. On 23 September 2008, Trevor Manuel resigned as Finance Minister along with a number of other cabinet members after the resignation of President Thabo Mbeki
15. On 2 March 2011, Trevor Manuel published an open letter to Jimmy Manyi, the spokesperson for the South African government, in which he accused him of racism and compared him to Hendrik Verwoerd. This letter was precipitated by the remarks that Manyi made about a change in the labour laws he had proposed in his previous position of Director-General of Labour
