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!