Tito Mboweni A Gifted, Trailblazing Leader Who Loved A Joke

Tito Mboweni, one of the last of the idealistic Young Turks recruited by Nelson Mandela to build a brighter future for post-apartheid South Africa and who rose to become the first black head of the Reserve Bank, has died after a short illness in Johannesburg. He was 65.

Mboweni grew up in poverty in rural South Africa, rose to be a firebrand of the anti-apartheid movement and ended up talking high finance with investors. He was a minister by the age of 35 and governor of the Reserve Bank at 40.

Mboweni was an influential and able governor and finance minister who used his larger-than-life personality and people skills to get things done.

We have lost a leader and compatriot who has served our nation as an activist, economic policy innovator and champion of labour rights, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in tribute.

Mboweni grew up an angry young man in the face of apartheid racial discrimination. In his home town of Tzaneen, Limpopo, black people werent allowed to enter most shops.