Former Premier

Ms Zisiwe Nosimo Beauty Balindlela was appointed as the Premier of the Eastern Cape Province from 22 April 2004 until 25 July 2008. Prior to her appointment as a premier, she served as a member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education and Culture in Eastern Cape Province from 1994 until 1999 and as MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture from 1999 to 2004.

Ms Balindlela holds a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education from Columbia University Teachers College in 1979 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Universty of Fort Hare in 1976. Prior to that she had obtained a Junior Secondary Teacher's Diploma from Lovedale Teacher's College.

In 1992 Ms Balindlela attended a four months course on Distance Education from Institute of Education at London University; and later she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Fort Hare in 2002.

Ms Balindlela worked as a Teacher at Gasela Secondary School from 1973 to 1974 and she also taught at Lovedale Teacher's College from 1975 until 1977.

She was a founder and Director of Early Learning Centre during the period 1981/1982. And between 1982 and 1983 she was a Lecturer of Education Psychology at University of Fort Hare and later in 1984 she lectured at Cape College Teacher's Education and she worked as a Lecturer at University of Transkei and she involved in Collegiate University teaching from 1985 to 1987.

Ms Balindlela was appointed head of Junior Primary Department at Dr WB Rubusana College of Education in 1988 and she served until 1991, and she worked in the Department of Basic Adult Education at the University of Fort Hare from 1991 until 1994.

Later she was elected regional Chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) and she served for the period between 1990 until 1991. Earlier in 1983 she was nominated a woman of the Year by readers of the Star a Johannesburg newspaper and in the same year 1983 she was elected President of Alice Branch of South African University Women.

Ms Balindlela designed and implemented the curriculum of the Department of Collegiate Education, which resulted in a link between the Colleges, and which led to the establishment of the University and she also designed pre-primary Bachelor of Education Curriculum for the Faculty of Education at the Fort Hare University.

She was the pioneer of three rural pre-schools in Ciskei based on Dr Francis Wilson's findings on poverty and she designed and introduced the Amakhaya Home Based Educare programme special emphasis on parental responsibility and participation. In January 1992 she introduced break-through to Literacy Project at Rhodes University Institute for English in Africa into 10 lower primary schools at Stutterheim. She became a member of the Board of Directors of Stutterheim Development Foundation.