The Honourable
Athol Trollip
Provincial Chairman of ActionSA
in Eastern Cape
Assumed office
9 February 2022
LeaderHerman Mashaba
Federal Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance
In office
10 May 2015 – 23 October 2019
Preceded byWilmot James
Succeeded byIvan Meyer (interim)
Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay
In office
18 August 2016 – 27 August 2018
DeputyMongameli Bobani
Preceded byDanny Jordaan
Succeeded byMongameli Bobani
Member of Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature
In office
5 June 2013 – 18 August 2016
Leader of the Opposition
In office
7 May 2009 – 27 October 2011
PresidentJacob Zuma
Preceded bySandra Botha
Succeeded byLindiwe Mazibuko
Member of the National Assembly
In office
6 May 2009 – 1 June 2013
Personal details
Born (1964-03-12) 12 March 1964
Bedford, Cape Province, South Africa
Political party
Other political
affiliations		Progressive Federal Party
(1980-1989)
Spouse
Janine Handley
​
(m. 2016)​
Children2

Roland Athol Price Trollip (born 12 March 1964) is a South African politician and provincial chairman of ActionSA in the Eastern Cape. He was previously a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), serving as the Federal Chairperson of the DA from 2015 to 2019 and the Executive Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, serving from 2016 until he was unseated in a vote of no confidence in 2018.[1][2]

Trollip has served as a member of the National Assembly and as a member of the Provincial Legislature of the Eastern Cape Province. He served as Parliamentary Leader of the opposition between 2009 and 2011. He was the provincial leader of the DA in the Eastern Cape from 2002 until he was replaced on 6 May 2017 by Nqaba Bhanga.[3]

Early life

Trollip was born in the town of Bedford in the Eastern Cape, attended Woodridge College, and studied Agricultural Management at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg.[4]

Career in politics

Trollip at the DA's 2010 Federal Congress

Trollip joined the liberal Progressive Federal Party in 1980.[5] His political career began in earnest when he became a municipal councillor for the PFP's successor, the Democratic Party, in 1995. He was elected as provincial chairperson in 1998 and then as the renamed DA's leader in the Eastern Cape in 2002, a position he held for 15 years. Trollip served as a Member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature between 1999 and 2009.[4]

He unsuccessfully ran for party leader against Helen Zille in 2007.[4]

In 2009, Trollip became a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly and after winning a leadership contest against Ryan Coetzee assumed the position of Parliamentary Leader of the DA. On 27 October 2011, Trollip was defeated in his bid for re-election as Parliamentary Leader of the DA by fellow MP Lindiwe Mazibuko.[6] He later left the National Assembly to return to the Eastern Cape Legislature in 2013,[7] and was the DA's premier candidate in the Eastern Cape province for the 2014 general election.[8] During this time, Trollip was involved with Helen Zille in welcoming King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo into the DA,[9] despite his conviction on serious criminal charges. Dalindyebo was subsequently expelled from the DA when the conviction was upheld on appeal.[4]

In 2015, Trollip returned to national prominence within the DA. On 13 April he was announced as the DA candidate for Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in the 2016 Local Government Elections,[1][10] and was also elected as the Federal Chairperson of the DA at the party's Federal Congress in May.[11]

In 2016, Trollip was referred to the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) for alleged human rights abuses and unfair labour practices on the family farm near Bedford in the Eastern Cape, allegations that he strenuously denied.[12][13] The HRC later abandoned the case, citing the difficulty of investigating events alleged to have happened between the 1970s and 2000s, and that the incidents happened before the current, constitutional dispensation and involved "issues of pre-jurisdiction".[14][15]

Later career

In the municipal elections held on 3 August 2016, the DA won a plurality of seats in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. With the help of the smaller parties such as the United Democratic Movement, Congress of the People and the African Christian Democratic Party, Trollip was elected as mayor of that municipality.[1] He served in the position for 2 years, under which the metro received a ratings upgrade from Moody's.[16]

Tensions soon arose between Trollip and his deputy mayor from the UDM, Mongameli Bobani, requiring frequent interventions by the respective party leaderships to mend the relationship. The relationship eventually broke down and Bobani was ousted from the coalition in late 2017. After this, Trollip faced several no-confidence motions. One was tabled to be held on 30 March 2018. The vote was postponed, because the city council meeting descended into chaos due to the actions of the opposition parties.[17]

In August 2018, DA councillor Victor Manyati abstained from voting in the no-confidence motion against the speaker, allowing the speaker to be removed. After the motion, the DA and its coalition partners left the council.[18] The vote of no confidence in Trollip then occurred and succeeded. Bobani was then elected mayor with 61 votes in favour, and none against.[2] The DA legally challenged the removal of Trollip as executive mayor.[19] The party alleged that there was no longer a quorum in the council when the vote occurred as Manyati's party membership had been suspended after he abstained.[20] However, the high court upheld Bobani's appointment, stating that Manyati had still been a DA member at the time and as such there was a quorum. Trollip subsequently assumed the post of leader of the opposition of the Nelson Mandela Bay council.

In October 2019, he declared his intention to run for the post of Chairperson of the DA's Federal Council. The election was held later in October and Trollip lost to Helen Zille.[21][22] He resigned as the party's federal chair, and resigned from all active roles within the DA on 23 October 2019, following the resignation of Party Leader Mmusi Maimane.[23] Trollip resigned as a DA councillor in December 2019, following the ousting of Mongameli Bobani.[24][25]

Trollip joined the ActionSA political party in 9 February 2022.[26]

Personal life

Trollip is a fluent speaker of Afrikaans, English, and Xhosa. He has two children. Trollip married Janine Handley on 5 November 2016 at Kasouga.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Athol Trollip launches mayoral campaign in Mandela Bay". News24. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 "UDM's Mongameli Bobani elected new mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay". IOL News. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "DA elects Nqaba Bhanga as E Cape's new leader", SABC Digital News, 2017-05-06
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Who is Athol Trollip?". eNCA. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "Athol Trollip launches mayoral campaign in Mandela Bay". News24. 12 September 2015. I have spent the majority of my life in public service. I joined the DA's predecessor party, the PFP, in 1980 because they were fighting against Apartheid, and my family supported that fight
  6. ↑ Mokone, Thabo (27 October 2011). "Lindiwe Mazibuko elected DA parliamentary leader". Times LIVE. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Trollip back in Eastern Cape, vows to fight for rural development". SABC. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Zille announces candidate list for 2014 election". 25 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Naude, Jason (16 July 2013). "King joins DA". DispatchLIVE. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "Trollip is DA mayoral candidate for Mandela Bay". News24. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  11. ↑ van Damme, Phumzile (10 May 2015). "Our new leadership - DA". Politics Web. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Ngcukana, Lubabalo (29 February 2016). "Athol Trollip: It's a smear campaign". CityPress. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  13. ↑ Ngcukana, Lubabalo (29 February 2016). "Workers accuse Athol Trollip of abuse, racism". CityPress. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  14. ↑ Koyana, Xolani (25 March 2016). "SAHRC abandons case into Athol Trollip mistreating his farmworkers". Eyewitness News. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  15. ↑ Tandwa, Lizeka (29 March 2016). "SAHRC drops investigation on Athol Trollip family". News24. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  16. ↑ Paulse, Jayed-Leigh (29 April 2018). "Moody's upgrades NMB rating". SABC News. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  17. ↑ "Numbers remain on our side: NMB Mayor Athol Trollip". eNCA. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Breaking: Athol Trollip voted out of office as DA member flips on mayor". The South African. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  19. ↑ "DA heads to court over vote ousting Athol Trollip". Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  20. ↑ reporter, Citizen. "DA maintains Trollip's ousting was unlawful, will head to court". The Citizen.
  21. ↑ Chabalala, Jeanette (5 October 2019). "Here's what the four DA candidates vying for James Selfe's position have to offer". News24. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  22. ↑ Head, Tom (20 October 2019). "Guess who's back? Helen Zille wins crucial DA Federal Council vote". The South African. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  23. ↑ Head, Tom (23 October 2019). "Just in: Mmusi Maimane officially resigns as DA leader". The South African. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  24. ↑ Trollip, Athol (5 December 2019). "It is good that Mongameli Bobani has gone – Athol Trollip". Politicsweb. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  25. ↑ Kimberley, Michael (29 November 2019). "Trollip to step down as Bay councillor". HeraldLIVE. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  26. ↑ ActionSA welcomes Athol Trollip in Gqeberha, retrieved 9 February 2022
  27. ↑ "Janine Trollip". HeraldLIVE. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
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