Mbeki, Thabo

(born June 18, 1942, Idutywa, Transkei) President of South Africa (1999–2008). The son of an antiapartheid activist, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League in 1956. Mbeki studied economics at Sussex University in Britain and then received military training in the Soviet Union. He was appointed deputy president by Nelson Mandela following South Africa's first elections (1994) based on universal suffrage and soon took control of the government's day-to-day workings. He became president when Mandela stepped down. Mbeki was criticized during his presidency for his views on the biology of AIDS but was noted for his involvement in South Africa's postapartheid economic growth strategy and for his general success in mediating disputes in several African countries. Mbeki resigned at the request of the ANC following allegations that he had interfered in the legal prosecution of his political rival, which he denied.

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