Mugwena Maluleke
President, Education International
Dr Mugwena Maluleke—teacher, unionist, and social justice activist—is General Secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) and President of Education International, the global union federation representing teachers and education support personnel around the world, with over 33 million members in 178 countries.
A leading anti-Apartheid activist and fierce education champion, Dr. Maluleke started his career in the classroom as a math teacher and later, as a school principal in Tshwane, South Africa. He led the fight to dismantle Apartheid-created teacher associations and pave the way to a united, antiracist and antisexist trade union. He has been a member of SADTU since its inception in 1990 and was elected for a fourth term as General Secretary of the union in 2024.
Dr. Maluleke is also a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Congress of South African Trade Unions—the country’s largest trade union federation with more than 21 member organizations representing over 1.8 million workers. SADTU is the second largest union with more than 235,000 members and the single largest public sector union.