Ravi Pillay
Ravigasen Ranganathan "Ravi" Pillay is a South African attorney and African National Congress politician who is the Member of the Executive Council for Finance in KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, appointed in May 2019. He was previously the MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works from 2011 to 2019. Pillay was elected a Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature in 2009 and served as the legislature's chief whip of the majority party from 2009 to 2011.Biography
Pillay was born on 18 November 1958 in Port Shepstone in the Natal Province. He studied at the University of Durban-Westville and obtained both a BA degree and an LLB degree. He was a student activist at the university and joined the ANC in 1981.
After apartheid, Pillay became the inaugural speaker of the Hibiscus Coast Local Municipality and was later promoted to be speaker of the Ugu District Municipality.
He was elected an MPL in May 2009 and became the chief whip of the ANC caucus in the legislature. Later, in November 2011, he was appointed to the province's Executive Council as the member for Human Settlements and Public Works. He served in the post from 2011 to 2019 under three premiers: Zweli Mkhize, Senzo Mchunu and Willies Mchunu.
Pillay was appointed acting premier in March 2018 and became the first Indian South African to hold the post. He has since been acting premier on multiple occasions.
In May 2019, Pillay became the new MEC for Finance in the cabinet of Sihle Zikalala. He succeeded Belinda Scott.
