Debbie Schäfer
Deborah Anne "Debbie" Schäfer is a South African politician and lawyer who served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Education and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament for the Democratic Alliance from 2014 to 2022. Prior to serving in the provincial government, Schäfer served as a Member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2014.
Early life and family
Schäfer was born on 18 December 1966 in Pietermaritzburg in the Natal Province, and is of South African descent. During her early years, her family relocated to Johannesburg, where she completed her primary school education. They later moved to Cape Town where she matriculated from Bergvliet High School in 1984.She achieved a Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology from the University of Cape Town and, later on, in 1990, she received a Bachelor of Laws from the same university. She is married to Mark Schäfer. They have twin daughters, who both finished high school in 2017.
Schäfer practised as an attorney of the Cape High Court for twelve years before starting her political career as a ward councillor.
Political career
Schäfer joined the Democratic Party in 1999. In 2002, she was elected to the Cape Town City Council as the councillor for ward 62, an area that included the suburbs of Wynberg and Constantia. In the 2006 elections, she was elected the councillor for ward 73. She served in this position until her election to the National Assembly in the 2009 general election.On 14 May 2009, the Democratic Alliance released a statement, in which Schäfer was appointed Shadow Deputy Minister of Police. Democratic Alliance Parliamentary Leader Athol Trollip reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet in September 2010 and appointed Schäfer as the Shadow Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. She retained her position when newly elected Parliamentary Leader Lindiwe Mazibuko announced her Shadow Cabinet in February 2012. During her tenure in Parliament, she served on the Magistrates’ Commission.
In the 2014 elections, she was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Premier Helen Zille announced in a subsequent statement that Schäfer had been appointed as the Provincial Minister of Education. She was sworn in by Western Cape Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso. Following her re-election in May 2019, newly elected premier Alan Winde announced that Schäfer would remain as Provincial Minister of Education.