Max Sisulu receives Hungarian Honour

Ambassador Attila György Horváth of Hungary presenting the Hungarian States Merit Award to Max Sisulu

29 November 2021

Ambassador Attila György Horváth of Hungary to South Africa presented the Hungarian States Merit Award to Max Sisulu. The former speaker of the South African Parliament was the African National Congress (ANC) representative in Budapest during the Liberation war of Freedom from the abhorrent apartheid regime in South Africa.

Sisulu, an activist and struggle veteran, bore the brunt of the brutal regime at the age of 17 when he was arrested and detained. He is the son of Walter Sisulu, an ANC stalwart who was unjustly incarcerated on the notorious Robben Island Prison off the coast of Cape Town with iconic freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Dennis Goldberg and Andrew Mlangeni amongst others.

Max Sisulu himself had to flee South Africa as the Nationalist Party (NP) tightened its brutal grip on the country in the face of resistance to its cruel racist and discriminatory practices. He was exiled in Moscow where he attained a Masters in Economics.

The Award presentation on November 25 at a dinner hosted by the embassy at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens also marked the launch of Alumni Hungary-South Africa Network and commemorated the 30th Anniversary of relations between the two countries. The Alumni brings together recipients of the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme offered by the Hungarian Government. Hundreds of South African Higher Education students have participated in this programme since it was launched in 2017.

Ambassador Horváth said this will grow professional links between the two countries and lead to further strenghtening of relations.

Max Sisulu thanked the Hungarians for their hospitality and support during his exile in Budapest and for their efforts in bringing an end to apartheid and their continued fruitful partnership with South Africa.

Photos and text: TDS


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