Indulge in Lunch with Patricia De Lille

Patricia de Lille, the President of the Independent Democrats, has been active in politics for a quarter of a century. Known for her role as a trade unionist and as the initial whistle-blower on infamous Arms Deal corruption, in 1988 she was elected Vice-President of the National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU).

After leading the PAC delegation to the constitutional negotiations in Kempton Park in 1994, Patricia de Lille went on to become a member of Parliament and chair the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, which she did until 1999. She formed the Independent Democrats in 2003, which won national and provincial seats in the 2004 elections.

She was awarded the HIV/Aids Activist Award, became one of the Top 5 Women in Government and Government Agencies, and in 2006 won the Rapport City Press Woman of the Year Award. She is a former Chancellor of the Durban Institute of Technology, is an Honorary Colonel in the SANDF, and serves on the boards of the African Monitor, the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

Cape Town-based.