New Home Affairs Minister: Who is Leon Schreiber?

The Home Affairs portfolio will receive an injection of youth through the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The portfolio has been handed to the Democratic Alliance (DA), with 35-year-old Leon Schreiber named as the new minister by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Schreiber replaces Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, while Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza remains in his position to ensure continuity.

Schreiber is a former Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration and has been a senior strategic advisor to John Steenhuisen since April 2023.

He has a Master’s degree in Political Science from Stellenbosch University. He earned his PhD in Germany before holding a research position at Princeton University.

A political academic, he is also the author of a 2018 book where he predicted the playing out of coalition politics in South Africa.  

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While with the DA during the sixth administration, Schreiber had a significant hand in the inquiry to remove Busisiwe Mkhwebane as Public Protector, as well as the DA’s court battles to obtain the ANC’s cadre deployment records.

Among the key roles of the Department of Home Affairs is the issuing of birth, death, marriage and death certificates, as well as controlling South Africa’s borders and ports.

The DA has eyed portfolios with economic benefits and the nation’s ports of entry leave much room for improvement.

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Increasing the efficiency of South Africa’s ports could be a big feather in the DA’s cap if it is able to register meaningful successes.

Steenhuisen outlined the DA’s vision for the GNU in a post-announcement statement.

“It will be the single most important task for this cabinet in the coming five-year term to make a meaningful difference in the lives of all South Africans, and to tap into South Africa’s limitless potential as one of the brightest and most resilient democracies in the world,” he said.