National Council for Research on Women

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Mamphela Remphele

In the last 30 years, Mamphela Ramphele has worked as a medical doctor, a civil rights leader, a community development worker, an academic researcher, and a university administrator. A South African native, Ramphele began her career as an advocate and activist as a student in the nation's Black Consciousness Movement during the 1970s. From 1977 to 1984, Ramphele was banished to Lenyenye in South Africa 's Northern Province . There, she continued her work with the rural poor and established the Ithuseng Community Health Programme.

In 1984, Ramphele received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Hunter College in New York City , and in May 1991 Tufts University awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Science degree for her devotion to the health and social welfare of the poor in South Africa . She also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Natal in South Africa , where she was elected to the Institute of Medicine .

Ramphele has served as a research fellow at the University of Cape Town and was appointed deputy vice-chancellor in 1991. Five years later, Ramphele became the first black woman to hold the position of vice chancellor at a South African university. She has chaired the Board of Trustees of the Independent Development Trust, the largest development capacity-building NGO in South Africa, and the Advisory Board of the World Bank's Economic Development Institute. Ramphele holds a medical degree from the University of Natal , a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Cape Town , a B.Com. in Administration from the University of South Africa, and diplomas in Tropical Health and Hygiene and Public Health from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

In May 2000, Ramphele was appointed managing director of the World Bank where she is responsible for managing the institution's human development activities with regard to education, health, nutrition, population and social protection. She is the author and editor of several books including: Mamphela Ramphele - A Life, her autobiography; A Bed Called Home on life in the migrant labor hostels in Cape Town, and Restoring the Land on ecological challenges facing post-apartheid South Africa.