Patricia de Lille

The Honourable Patricia de Lille MP
Minister of Tourism
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 March 2023
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy	Fish Mahlalela
Preceded by	Lindiwe Sisulu
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
In office 30 May 2019 – 6 March 2023
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy	Noxolo Kiviet
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Sihle Zikalala
Leader of Good
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 December 2018
Preceded by	Party founded
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 May 2019
In office 10 May 1994 – 10 September 2010
Mayor of Cape Town
In office 1 June 2011 – 31 October 2018 Mayorship suspended: 8–15 May 2018
Deputy	Ian Neilson
Preceded by	Dan Plato
Succeeded by	Ian Neilson (acting) Dan Plato
Western Cape Provincial Minister of Social Development
In office 22 September 2010 – 31 May 2011
Premier	Helen Zille
Preceded by	Ivan Meyer
Succeeded by	Albert Fritz
Leader of the Independent Democrats
In office 21 June 2003 – 21 May 2014
Preceded by	Party founded
Succeeded by	Party merged into Democratic Alliance
Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
In office 22 September 2010 – 31 May 2011
Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape
In office 18 April 2015 – 1 February 2017
Deputy	Bonginkosi Madikizela
Preceded by	Ivan Meyer
Succeeded by	Bonginkosi Madikizela
Personal details
Born	Patricia Lindt (1951-02-17) 17 February 1951 (age 73) Beaufort West, Cape Province, Union of South Africa
Political party	Good (2018–present)
Other political affiliations	Democratic Alliance (2010–2018) Independent Democrats (2003–2014) Pan Africanist Congress (1987–2003)
Spouse	Edwin de Lille ​ ​ (m. 1972; died 2021)​
Relations	Sarah Paulse (sister)
Children	1
Occupation	Politician legislator trade unionist anti-apartheid activist
Profession	Chemical technologist

Patricia de Lille (née Lindt; born 17 February 1951) is a South African politician who is the current Minister of Tourism and leader of the political party Good. She served as Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure from 2019 to 2023.

She was previously Mayor of Cape Town from 2011 to 2018 and before that, Western Cape Provincial Minister of Social Development from 2010 to 2011. She founded and led the Independent Democrats (ID), a political party which she formed in 2003 during a floor-crossing window, after she broke away from the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). In August 2010, the ID merged with the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's official opposition,^[1] and the party was officially dissolved in 2014. From 2015 to 2017, she was Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape.

De Lille was selected as the DA's mayoral candidate in Cape Town, defeating incumbent Dan Plato, ahead of the 2011 local government elections, where she was elected mayor. She was re-elected to a second term as mayor in the 2016 local government elections.^[2]

De Lille was voted 22nd in the Top 100 Great South Africans, and is noted for her role in investigations into the country's controversial Arms Deal.^[3]

On 8 May 2018, the DA's Federal Executive ceased De Lille's party membership, thereby removing her as mayor of the DA governed city.^[4][5] The Western Cape High Court temporarily suspended her removal.^[6] On 5 August 2018, De Lille announced her intention to resign as Mayor of Cape Town. She resigned as mayor and terminated her DA party membership on 31 October 2018.

Consequently, she formed Good in December 2018, and was announced as the party's Western Cape Premier candidate in February 2019.^[7][8] She was elected to Parliament in May 2019 and took office as a Member on 22 May 2019. On 29 May 2019, De Lille was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa as Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure. In March 2023, she became the Minister of Tourism.