George Johannes (1945 – 2022)

George Johannes worked for the African National Congress as a full-time political activist. He was also a member of the South African Communist party and, following the end of apartheid, a diplomat.

George Johannes was born in Cape Town on 25 November 1945. He attended St Augustine’s Roman Catholic Primary School and then enrolled himself at Trafalgar High School, which was known for its politically active teachers and students. In 1969 he moved to Ireland to study philosophy and history at the University of Cork, graduating in 1973 before returning to Africa, where he formally joined the ANC in 1976.

George worked with the ANC as a full-time political activist in a variety of roles, including: Journalist with Radio Freedom in Angola; and Administrative Secretary of the Department of Information and Publicity in Lusaka. He was posted to London in the early 1980s, where his roles included Chairperson of ANC Youth Section and Administrative Secretary of the ANC Office. During this time, George travelled across the UK for the ANC, speaking at political events.

Following the end of apartheid in 1994 George went back to South Africa to join Nelson Mandela’s Department of Labour as Director of International Relations. He returned to London four years later to be Deputy High Commissioner at the South African High Commission.

In 2005 he returned to South Africa to work at the Department of Foreign Affairs as the director responsible for UK, Ireland and the Benelux countries. In 2007 he became Deputy Ambassador to Germany, and in 2009 was appointed Ambassador to Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Vatican. Later a separate South African mission was created to the Vatican, and George became its first ambassador in Rome. George Johannes died in Rome on 30 November 2022, aged 78 years.

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