"Born in 1959, Dr. Carl Niehaus first graduated with a B.A. Summa cum Laude from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, in 1983. As a student, he became a political activist for the African National Congress (ANC) and fought against the policy of Apartheid. In 1983 he was imprisoned for his political activities and served eight years of his sentence before laws banning the ANC as a political organisation were revoked and he was released in 1991. During this time, he studied and gained his Bachelors and Honours degrees in Theology Summa cum Laude from the University of South Africa (UNISA). In 1989, while studying in prison, he received the UNISA Senate Medal as best post-graduate student.

On his release in 1991, he was made a member of the ANC's Negotiation Commission and was elected to the Provincial Executive Council of the ANC in the PWV region (now known as the Gauteng Province). He became the Director of the National Media Liaison Unit of the ANC and spokesperson for President Nelson Mandela.

He was also elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee, and became Chairperson of the ANC's Commission for Religious Affairs and a member of the ANC's Negotiation Commission during the period in which a democratic and non-racial Constitution was negotiated for South Africa.

In 1994, he became an ANC Member of Parliament in the National Assembly where he was variously a member of the Portfolio Committees of Justice and Telecommunications, Chairperson of the Committee on Correctional Services and a Whip and official spokesperson for the National Caucus of the ANC.

In 1997, President Mandela invited him to become the South African Ambassador to The Netherlands where he served with distinction. During that time he headed South Africa's delegation to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and became South Africa's Permanent Representative on the OPCW Executive Council. He also represented South Africa on the Administrative Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

While in the Netherlands, he also studied and obtained his Masters and Doctorates in Theology Summa cum Laude from the University of Utrecht.

After concluding his term as Ambassador, Carl became a Partner of Deloitte (jointly in South Africa and The Netherlands). He was Project Leader in the Presidency for South Africa's 10th Anniversary Celebrations, after which he became the CEO of Rhema Ministries and ultimately the CEO of the Gauteng Economic Development Agency (GEDA).

He has written three books and has been awarded many awards and honours, including being knighted by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands with the Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Orange-Nassau, the highest honour that the Dutch Royal Family can award a non-Dutch citizen.

Other awards include:

• The Belhar Medal, awarded by the Moderature of the Uniting Reformed Church, for his contribution to the continuing unification of the Dutch Reformed Church family (1998)
• The University of Utrecht International Medal, the university's highest award, in recognition of his promotion of international academic cooperation (2000)
• The Helene de Montigny Prize 2000 = 2001, in recognition of his contribution to promoting better understanding between cultural and language groups in South Africa and the Netherlands
• The Umkhonthu we Sizwe (MK) Gold Medal for his role as an MK Commander during the armed struggle against the apartheid regime (2007)

Currently Carl sits on many boards, including the South African Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, Civirello (Pty.) Ltd., the African Advisory Council of Heineken, the Nederlandse Maatschappij der Letteren, and the Afrikaanse Skrywersvereniging. Carl is a Trustee of the President's Awards for Young Achievers, as well as a Trustee of the Vincent Tshabalala Education Trust. He is Deputy-Chairman of the Council of the Robben Island Museum, and also a Patron of the Medunsa Trust and the South Africa Trauma Foundation.

He is Executive Director of M&C Investments Holdings, a venture capital and investment advisory company in South Africa, and Executive Chairman of Oil Treatment International - Africa.

He is an ordained Minister of Religion, and member of the International Federation of Christian Churches (IFCC). He Chairs the Finance Committee of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), and is also a member of various international socio-religious study groups of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Carl lives in Carlswald, Midrand, Gauteng with his life partner, Mafani, and their children. He enjoys drawing, painting and writing books and articles. His autobiographical book Om te Veg vir Hoop (Fighting for Hope) about his apartheid struggle years, originally written in Afrikaans, has been translated into English, Dutch, German and Swedish."

Source: www.mcinvestments.co.za