Joe Slovo — politician with roots in the Lithuania (Republic)
Joe Slovo (born Yossel Mashel Slovo, 23 May 1926 – 6 January 1995) was a South African politician born in Obeliai, Lithuania. He was one of the leaders of uMkhonto we Sizwe from 1961 and later its chief of staff, and General Secretary of the South African Communist Party from 1984 to 1991. In 1992 he presented the 'sunset clauses' in the negotiations to end apartheid, and he was Minister of Housing from 1994 until his death in 1995.
"Obeliai to Johannesburg, South Africa, c. 1934–35; sources give his age as eight or nine."
Migration storyTracing the roots — Obeliai (Lithuania)
His parents, Woolf and Ann Slovo, were living in Obeliai when he was born in 1926. Until 1918 the town was part of the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire; it then belonged to the independent Republic of Lithuania. The family emigrated to Johannesburg when he was eight or nine, and his father worked there as a truck driver.
Born in Obeliai on 23 May 1926, in the Republic of Lithuania, independent since 1918, to Woolf and Ann Slovo. The family emigrated to South Africa when he was eight or nine (sources differ).
Obeliai (Lithuania). At the time, this region was one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union.
A career defined by ambition
"A communist has no right to remain silent in the face of injustice."