Pieter Mulder

Pieter Mulder
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
In office 11 May 2009 – 25 May 2014
President	Jacob Zuma
Preceded by	Dirk du Toit
Succeeded by	Bheki Cele
Leader of the Freedom Front Plus
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 June 2001
Member of Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 1988
Constituency	Schweizer-Reneke
Personal details
Born	(1951-07-26) 26 July 1951 Randfontein, Gauteng, South Africa
Nationality	South Africa
Political party	Freedom Front Plus
Other political affiliations	Conservative Party of South Africa
Spouse	Triena Mulder
Relations	Connie Mulder (father)
Children	Heleen Suzanne Catrien Connie Gerdi

Pieter Mulder (born 26 July 1951) is a South African politician and the leader of the Freedom Front Plus. He served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the cabinet of President Jacob Zuma from 2009-2014.

Biography

Early life and politics

He was born in Randfontein and grew up in Randfontein and Cape Town. He completed his high school education at the Riebeeck High School in Randfontein, where he was headboy and Victor Ludorum in athletics. The son of former cabinet minister Connie Mulder, the young Mulder first worked as a lecturer at the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, before being promoted to head of the university's communications department. He represented the town of Potchefstroom in Parliament since 1988.

Freedom Front Plus

Prior to South Africa's first multi-racial elections in 1994, Mulder co-founded the Freedom Front with General Constand Viljoen, a former head of the South African Defence Force. During the elections of 1994, the Freedom Front won nine seats in the National Assembly. This number was slashed to just four during the 1999 elections. Viljoen, who acted as leader since the party's founding, retired from politics in 2001 and left Mulder in charge.

Deputy Minister and Leader of the Freedom Front

In 2004, under Mulder's leadership, the Freedom Front absorbed the Conservative Party, the Afrikaner Eenheids Beweging (Afrikaner Unity Movement), which lost its only seat in the National Assembly due to floor-crossing, and the Federale Alliansie of Dr. Louis Luyt. During the elections in 2004, the new "Freedom Front Plus" managed to hold on to its four seats in the National Assembly.

On 10 May 2009 President Jacob Zuma announced his appointment of Mulder as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Mulder served until May 2014, when he was replaced by former Police Commissioner Bheki Cele.