Gerald Morkel

Gerald Morkel (1941–2018) was a prominent South African politician who served as both the Mayor of Cape Town and the Premier of the Western Cape province. Born on February 2, 1941, he began his political career with the Labour Party in 1984 but later joined the National Party (NP), eventually leading the renamed New National Party (NNP) by 1998 and becoming Western Cape Premier.

In the 1999 election, no party secured a majority in the Western Cape, prompting the NNP to form a coalition with the Democratic Party, allowing Morkel to remain Premier. Plans for a merger with the Democratic Alliance (DA) were underway but derailed when the NNP leadership opted to partner with the African National Congress (ANC) instead in 2001. Morkel opposed this decision and attempted to rally his party against it, but upon failing, he resigned as Premier.

He subsequently joined the DA, becoming Mayor of Cape Town until the DA was ousted in 2002. He continued as the DA's Western Cape leader briefly before stepping down due to ties with fraudster Jurgen Harksen. Morkel remained a City Council member for Steenberg until his retirement in 2011.

Morkel passed away on January 9, 2018, at his home in Tokai, Cape Town, following a cancer diagnosis in 2014. He was survived by his wife and sister, leaving behind three sons—Garth, Kent (also a politician), and Craig—and a daughter, Gail.