Gill Marcus

Reserve Bank Governor

Date of Birth: 10 August 1949
Place of Birth: Johannesburg

Education: Barnato Park High School for Girls, Johannesburg; and Bachelor of Commerce, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Career: Moved to London with her famiiy in 1970; joined the African National Congress, 1970; worked full-time for ANC,1975;. Editor, ANC's Weekly News Briefing, 1976. She returned to South Africa in 1990 and set up the ANC's Department of Information and Publicity. Prior to the 1994 elections, she trained ANC media workers and voter educators, and accompanied President Nelson Mandela, campaigning in the provinces. 

Elected to parliament, Marcus 'quickly established a widely respected reputation for her efficient, effective and no nonsense approach to her position of Chairperson of the parliamentary joint Finance Committee', 1994; joined cabinet as Deputy Minister of Finance, 1996; appointed Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, 1 July 1999; appointed Reserve Bank Governor, 20 July 2009.

Efficient and hardworking, Gill Marcus is known for her tough managerial style. Born in 1949, she was involved in politics from a young age: her parents were active in the African National Congress and were forced into exile in the late 1960s. Marcus worked for the ANC's Department of Information and Publicity in London, returning to South Africa in 1990. From 1991 to 1998, she served on the ANC's National Executive Committee. Marcus entered the Reserve Bank as Deputy to Tito Mboweni in 1999. Her relationship with Mboweni was strained and she left in 2004, staying away from government roles and taking the position of Chairwoman of Absa in 2007.

Her appointment as Reserve Bank Governor on 20 July has been welcomed by the left. Congress of South African Trade Unions General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi said: 'She will engage with us, and listen to different opinions. She will not take a know-it-all attitude and will not be dismissive and arrogant.' The approval of Cosatu is both useful and necessary to President Jacob Zuma, who has to be seen as making concessions to the left without rocking the markets.

Zuma's decision to get rid of former Governor Tito Mboweni was partly in response to pressure from Cosatu and the South African Communist Party. The left have long called for Mboweni's resignation and his replacement with someone who might be more receptive to the calls for a debate on inflation targeting; they want the current band of 3-6% to be significantly widened or abolished altogether.

Whatever the hopes of the left, it is unlikely that Marcus will move too far from Mboweni's conservative approach. She also needs to maintain the support of big business. Some heavyweights in Black Economic Empowerment circles have expressed reservations about her capability though her appointment has been positively received.