GALA 2009: Honorees

Pillar Award for Professional Achievement

His Excellency Welile Nhlapo
Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to the United States

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Ambassador Welile Nhlapo made a significant contribution to the liberation movement in his country during the difficult period of struggle against apartheid.  He began his activities as a student in the Black Consciousness Movement and together with its late founder Steve Biko and Tebogo Mafole, he co-authored the publication Black Review in 1972 that reviewed the activities of black organizations at the time.

In 1973, a banning order was issued against Nhlapo and he went into exile in Botswana in 1974.  During his years in exile, he became the deputy editor of the African National Congress’s (ANC) publication Sechaba. He was also head of the ANC Youth Section and other structures of the ANC.
He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and was part of the South African government delegation to the United Nations General Assembly that year when South Africa was re-admitted to the world body.  In 1998, he was appointed deputy director-general responsible for Africa in the Department of Foreign Affairs.  During this period, he participated in South Africa’s conflict resolution efforts in Lesotho.

Ambassador Nhlapo currently serves as chairman of the board of the Nelson Mandela Children Fund in the United States of America.  He is married to Mrs. Sissy Nhlapo; they have three children.

The Honorable Norm Dicks (D-WA)	The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)	The Honorable Edward Rendell	The Honorable Fidel Herrera Beltrán

Gala Award Descriptions (pdf)

The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars is an independent, non-profit educational organization founded in 1975.  Its mission is to prepare college and university students for civic leadership through experiential education.  In this way, The Washington Center seeks to promote future leadership for the private, public and nonprofit sectors of society.  It has served approximately 40,000 students from close to 1,000 colleges and universities located in the United States and around the world.  For additional information, please visit our website at www.twc.edu.