Graça Machel (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈɡɾasɐmɐˈʃɛl]; néeSimbine[sĩˈbinɨ]; born 17 October 1945) is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. Machel is an international advocate for women's and children's rights and was made an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for her humanitarian work. She is the only woman in modern history to have served as First Lady of two countries: South Africa and Mozambique. She is the widow of former President of Mozambique Samora Machel (1975–1986) and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela (1998–2013).
Graça Machel is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. As a panel member, she facilitates coalition building to leverage and broker knowledge, and convenes decision-makers to influence policy for lasting change in Africa.
Simbine returned to Portuguese East Africa in 1973, joining the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and working as a schoolteacher. Following Mozambique's independence in 1975, Simbine was appointed Mozambican's first Minister of Education and Culture on 25 June 1975.
During her tenure, the number of students enrolled in primary and secondary schools rose from about 40 per cent of all school-aged children to over 90 per cent for males and 75 per cent for females.[2]
Later career
Graça Machel received the 1992 Africa Prize, awarded annually to an individual who has contributed to the goal of eliminating hunger in Africa by the year 2000. Machel received the 1995 Nansen Medal from the United Nations in recognition of her longstanding humanitarian work, particularly on behalf of refugee children.[3]
In 1997, Machel was honored with the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions and services in the field of human rights protection. In the same year, she received the Global Citizen Award of the New England Circle. Machel was one of the two winners of the 1998 North–South Prize awarded by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.[4]
On 17 July 2018, Machel attended the 16th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, which was located at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, alongside South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and former US President Barack Obama. The event was visited by nearly 15,000 people, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's birth.[11]
In the lead‑up to COP27, Machel advocates that Africa's youth should have a greater say in climate politics and warned that existing development aid programs covering, for example, education may well be cut and diverted to fund climate change adaptation instead.[12]
United Nations
Following her retirement from the Mozambique ministry, Machel was appointed as the expert in charge of producing the groundbreaking United Nations report on the impact of armed conflict on children.[13] From 2008 until 2009, she was a member of the High-Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, co-chaired by Gordon Brown and Robert Zoellick.[14] She served as the Chair of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) from 2013-2018. In January 2016, she was also appointed by United Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon to the High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child.[15]
Simbine married Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique, in 1975. Together they had two children: daughter Josina (born April 1976) and son Malengane (born December 1978). Samora Machel died in office in 1986 when his presidential aircraft crashed near the Mozambique-South Africa border. Josina is a women's rights activist and in 2020 was listed as one of the BBC's 100 Women.[31]
Graça Machel Mandela married her second husband, Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg on 18 July 1998, Mandela's 80th birthday. At the time, Mandela was serving as the first post-apartheid president of South Africa. Mandela died of pneumonia on 5 December 2013.[32]
Decade Child Rights Hero (together with Nelson Mandela) by 7.1 million children through a Global Vote, organized as part of the educational World's Children's Prize Program, 2010.[34]
World Health Organization Gold Medal, 2018 (WHO).[35]
Major award from CARE as result-longstanding work on behalf of children.[36]
^"Graça Machel (Mozambique)". Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). United Nations Foundation profile
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