"Unreasonable Africa" Keynote Address - Trevor Manuel

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Trevor Manuel is a senior advisor to the Rothschild Group worldwide and Deputy Chairman of Rothschild in South Africa.

Trevor Manuel served as a Cabinet Minister from 1994 to 2014 under the first four successive Presidents, Mandela, Mbeki, Motlanthe and Zuma in democratic South Africa. His cabinet responsibilities included Trade and Industry (May 1994 to April 1996), Finance (April 1996 to May 2009), and in the Presidency, responsibility for the National Planning Commission (May 2009 to May 2014). During his two decades as a Cabinet Minister he also served as a Member of Parliament, representing the African National Congress.

His ministerial career highlights have tracked two decades of major development in the South African economy. As Minister of Trade and Industry he led the process of reintegration of South Africa into the global economy after decades of sanctions, and he introduced extension support measures for small, medium and micro-enterprises. During his lengthy tenure as Minister of Finance he stabilised the macro-economy, significantly transformed the fiscal system in respect of taxation, expenditure and the intergovernmental system. As Chairperson of the National Planning Commission he oversaw the drafting of the broadly accepted first-ever National Development Plan for the country.

As Minister he assumed a number of ex officio positions on International bodies, including the United Nations Commission for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank, the IMF, the G20, the African Development Bank and the Southern African Development Community. In these institutions, he was also frequently elected by his peers to chair several of these bodies.