Why the African diaspora is crucial to the continent's future

Lindiwe Mazibuko was until recently the Leader of the Opposition in the South African National Assembly, making her the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) youngest-ever parliamentary leader and the first black woman in South African history to be elected to the post of Leader of the Opposition. Mazibuko committed herself to making Parliament the true centre of robust political debate and engagement in South Africa. In May 2014, at the end of her term and following a successful electoral campaign in which the DA grew its share of the national vote from 16% to 22%, Mazibuko announced that she would take a sabbatical from active politics. In May 2015, she graduated from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government with a Master of Public Administration (MPA), and since September 2015 she has been in residence at the Institute of Politics (IOP) at Harvard University as a Fall Resident Fellow.