Open Threads

The Graça Machel Day Thread (Monday April 19)

Graça Machel, born 17 October 1945, is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. Among her accomplishments:

  • graduate of the University of Lisbon.
     
  • speaks German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, and Xitsonga.
     
  • served as the Minister of Education for Mozambique; during her tenure, the number of students enrolled in primary and secondary schools rose from about 40 percent of all school-aged children to over 90 percent for boys and 75 percent for girls.
     
  • chancellor of the University of Cape Town between 1999 and 2019.
     
  • member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group that advocates for equitable and sustainable development in Africa.
     
  • recipient of the 1992 Africa Prize for her work to eliminate hunger in Africa.
     
  • recipient of the 1995 Nansen Medal for her humanitarian work.
     
  • was made an honorary British Dame for her humanitarian work.
     
  • president of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
     
  • chancellor of the African Leadership University.
     
  • holds honorary doctorates from the University of Massachusetts, University of Stellenbosch, University of Barcelona, University of Évora, Trinity College Dublin, and Leiden University.

I first learned of her through a piece of trivia: she is the only person to be First Lady of two different nations. She was first lady of Mozambique when married to President Samora Machel; twelve years after his death in a plane crash, she married Nelson Mandela and became first lady of South Africa. But as you can see, she’s a remarkable woman for reason going far above and beyond her marriages.

Have a great day thread, everyone!