Hon. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South African Minister of Tourism

Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the South African Minister of Tourism,was born in 1959 and received a degree in law, as well as Honours and Masters degrees in political science from the University of Johannesburg. He was a lecturer in political science and has been a member of the South African parliament since 1990. He has served as a member of cabinet since 2004 in the portfolios of Environmental Affairs as well as Tourism. He served as a member of the Legacy and Legal Committee of the Local Organising Committee for the FIFA 2010 World Cup ™ and was recognised as Africa’s Tourism Minister of the Year in 2008. In February 2010 he chaired the inaugural meeting of the T.20 Tourism Ministers and hosted the UNWTO Summit on Sport, Tourism and Mega-events in Johannesburg. He has served on the Executive Council of the UNWTO since October 2009 and is currently the chairperson of the Aviation, Travel and Tourism Industry Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum.