Leon Schreiber
MP
Schreiber in 2017
Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration
Assumed office
5 June 2019
DeputyMichéle Clarke
Mimmy Gondwe
LeaderJohn Steenhuisen
Mmusi Maimane
Preceded byDésirée van der Walt
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
Assumed office
22 May 2019
Personal details
Born
Leon Amos Schreiber

Namaqualand, Cape Province, South Africa
Political partyDemocratic Alliance
Alma materUniversity of Stellenbosch
Free University of Berlin
OccupationMember of Parliament
ProfessionAuthor
Politician
CommitteesPortfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration

Leon Amos Schreiber is a South African author and Democratic Alliance (DA) politician serving as the Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration since June 2019. He has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since May 2019.

Early life and education

Schreiber was born on 11 September 1988 in the Namaqualand region of the former Cape Province. He attended Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch and matriculated from the school in 2006. He studied at the University of Stellenbosch where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in International Studies, a BA Honours in political science and then a master's degree in the same subject.[1]

In 2015, he received his PhD in political science from the Free University of Berlin.[1]

Career

In 2015, Schreiber joined Princeton University as a Senior Research Specialist. He wrote the book Coalition Country: South Africa After the ANC, which was published in 2018.[2]

Parliamentarian (2019–present)

He joined the DA and was a candidate for the party at the 2019 general election. He was placed 8th on the party's regional list and 42nd on the provincial list. As a result of the DA's electoral performance, he was elected as a Member of Parliament. Schreiber was sworn in on 22 May 2019.[1] He later became the party's Stellenbosch constituency chair.

On 5 June 2019, Schreiber was appointed as the Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration by the Democratic Alliance leader, Mmusi Maimane.[3] As of June 2019, he serves a member of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration. He was an Alternate Member of the Ad Hoc Committee to Amend Section 25 of the Constitution until March 2020.

In October 2019, he resigned from Stellenbosch University's Institutional Forum with immediate effect due to English being elevated above Afrikaans as a teaching medium at the university. He said that he could not be privy to the phasing out of mother-tongue education in South Africa.[4]

In November 2020, Schreiber called on the Auditor-General to probe parliament for spending millions of rands on aeroplane tickets for former cabinet ministers.[5] On 5 December 2020, Schreiber was re-appointed to his Shadow Cabinet role by the newly elected DA leader, John Steenhuisen.[6]

On 17 February 2021, Schreiber introduced the End Cadre Deployment Bill during the State of the Nation Address debate. If passed, it will prohibit anyone from being employed in public service, if they hold a political office.[7]

In March 2021, Schreiber accused the Stellenbosch University management of being "anti-Afrikaans" after reports emerged that first-year students at some of the university's residences were allegedly prohibited from speaking Afrikaans. The DA subsequently launched a petition to protect mother tongue education.[8][9]

On 7 April 2021, Schreiber was appointed to serve on the Committee for Section 194 Enquiry, which will determine if there are grounds for the removal of Busisiwe Mkhwebane as Public Protector.[10]

During a briefing on 12 January 2022, Schreiber announced that the DA would submit a formal complaint to the Public Service Commission (PSC) based on a compilation of evidence, and request that the commission investigate each appointment revealed in the minutes of the ANC cadre deployment committee, which was published by the State Capture Commission in early-January 2022. Schreiber said that the DA's analysis of the minutes divulged that between May 2018 and May 2021 during Cyril Ramaphosa's presidency, the ANC's cadre deployment committee was involved in the appointment processes at a total of 88 state institutions. Schreiber also dismissed claims that cadre deployment ended when former president Jacob Zuma resigned as president in February 2018, saying it continues "unabated" during Ramaphosa's presidency.[11][12][13]

Schreiber was appointed as Strategy and Communications Advisor to John Steenhuisen on 21 April 2023.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Blog: Mr Leon Schreiber". People's Assembly. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Tandwa, Lizeka (17 March 2019). "A phenomenal doctor, a YouTuber and two researchers walk into the DA - six DA candidates you may not know". News24. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Gerber, Jan (5 June 2019). "Here's the DA's 'shadow cabinet'". News24. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  4. ↑ Kaunda, Selisho (16 October 2019). "DA MP resigns from Stellies Institutional Forum after ConCourt battle over language policy". The Citizen. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Probe ex-cabinet ministers', MPs' R10m a year flights, DA asks AG". The Citizen. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Mazzone, Natasha (5 December 2020). "DA announces new Shadow Cabinet that will bring Real Hope and Real Change". Democratic Alliance. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  7. ↑ Davis, Gaye (17 February 2021). "DA draft bill seeks to end cadre deployment". EWN. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  8. ↑ Nkanjeni, Unathi (23 March 2021). "'Make Afrikaans equal to English': DA launches petition to end 'war' against mother tongue at SU". DispatchLIVE. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  9. ↑ Mokhoali, Veronica (24 March 2021). "DA ACCUSES STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT OF BEING ANTI-AFRIKAANS". EWN. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Gerber, Jan (7 April 2021). "Parliament names committee which will determine Mkhwebane's fate, RET faction snubbed". News24. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Gerber, Jan. "DA to report appointments at 88 state institutions, based on ANC deployment committee minutes". News24. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "DA to request Parliamentary debate on cadre deployment | eNCA". www.enca.com. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "DA calls for probe into ANC cadre deployment". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "Shadow Cabinet: DA announces changes with a focus on Election 2024". Democratic Alliance. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
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