A Chinese woman elected in a south Africa parliament

Xiaomei Havard  is a Chinese-born South African businesswoman and politician from Gauteng who currently serves as a Member of Parliament for the African National Congress. Dr. Xiaomei, who is married to a South African, filled the position of the National Assembly which was held by the late minister in the presidency, Jackson Mthembu.

Havard who is from Henan, China, moved to Gauteng to study and later became a South African  citizen. She holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Johannesburg and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from a Chinese university.

Havard joined the African National Congress in 2004 where she has been a member of multiple Chinese business and BRICS forums. Havard is also the honourable president of the Africa Federation of Chinese Women in Commerce and Industry and the co-president of the South Africa-China Famous Female Business Council.

In May 2019 , she stood for election to the South African National Assembly as 130th on the ANC’s national list but due to the ANC’s electoral performance, she did not win a seat in parliament. Havard found herself on the wrong side when the ANC’s integrity committee revealed that she was among the 23 MP candidates who were to be removed from the party’s lists because of corruption, management and other acts of misconduct.

Following the death of the Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu , on 21 January 2021, the ANC selected Havard to fill his seat in the National Assembly and was sworn in on January  27, 2021.