John Steenhuisen

The Honourable John Steenhuisen MP
Steenhuisen in 2024
Minister of Agriculture
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 July 2024
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy	Rosemary Capa
Preceded by	Office established
20th Leader of the Opposition
In office 27 October 2019 – 14 June 2024
Chair	Ivan Meyer
Preceded by	Annelie Lotriet (acting) Mmusi Maimane
Succeeded by	John Hlophe
Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 November 2020 Interim: 17 November 2019 – 1 November 2020
Deputy	Jacques Julius Mike Waters
Preceded by	Mmusi Maimane
Chief Whip of the Official Opposition
In office 29 May 2014 – 24 October 2019
Leader	Mmusi Maimane
Preceded by	Watty Watson
Succeeded by	Jacques Julius (acting) Natasha Mazzone
Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
In office 1 February 2012 – 6 May 2014
Leader	Lindiwe Mazibuko
Succeeded by	Willem Doman
Constituency	KwaZulu-Natal
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 July 2011
Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature
In office 6 May 2009 – 19 July 2011
Personal details
Born	John Henry Steenhuisen (1976-03-25) 25 March 1976 (age 48) Durban, Natal, South Africa
Political party	Democratic Alliance (2000–present)
Other political affiliations	Democratic Party (until 2000)
Spouses	Julie Wright ​ ​ (m. 2000; div. 2010)​ Terry Beaumont ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	3
Education	Northwood Boys High School
Occupation	Politician
Signature

John Henry Steenhuisen (/ˈstiːnhaɪzən/ STEE-n-hy-zən; Afrikaans: [ˈdʒɔn ˈstiənˌɦœysən]; born 25 March 1976)^[1] is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister of Agriculture since July 2024. He has been the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) since November 2020, having served as the interim leader for one year from November 2019. He served as the twentieth leader of the Opposition from October 2019 to June 2024. Pursuant to the 2024 South African general election, he was appointed to the third cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa when the DA joined the Government of National Unity (GNU).^[2]

Born in Durban, he matriculated from Northwood Boys' High School. Steenhuisen joined the Democratic Party and was elected to the Durban City Council in 1999 as the councillor for Durban North. In 2000, the Democratic Alliance was formed, and he was elected as a councillor of the newly formed eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in that year's municipal election. He was appointed as the DA's caucus leader in 2006.

After the 2009 elections, he became a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature and was appointed the DA's caucus leader. Soon after, Steenhuisen was elected as the party's KwaZulu-Natal provincial leader, a position he held until he resigned in October 2010, amid an extramarital affair. He joined the National Assembly in July 2011, and he became the Shadow Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in February 2012 following his appointment by Lindiwe Mazibuko.

In 2014, Steenhuisen was appointed Chief Whip of the Official Opposition by Mmusi Maimane, the newly elected DA Parliamentary Leader and Leader of the Official Opposition. He served as Chief Whip until October 2019, when Maimane resigned as the official opposition leader and party leader. Shortly afterwards, Steenhuisen was elected unopposed to replace him as the Leader of the Opposition. In November 2019, he was elected interim leader of the DA, after he defeated Makashule Gana, a DA MPL in Gauteng. A year later, he was elected leader for a full term at the party's Federal Congress, defeating Mbali Ntuli, a DA MPL from KwaZulu-Natal. He was re-elected to another term as party leader on 2 April 2023. In the 2024 general election, the DA won 87 seats. As the ANC was denied a majority, the two parties and several smaller parties formed a national unity government, resulting with Cyril Ramaphosa being re-elected President of South Africa. Steenhuisen was subsequently appointed Minister of Agriculture on 3 July 2024.