Petrus Marais

Petrus Jacobus "Peter" Marais (born 4 September 1948) is a South African politician who is currently serving as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. He previously served as the inaugural Mayor of Cape Town from 2000 until his dismissal in 2001. He was soon appointed Premier of the Western Cape and served from 2001 to 2002. He has been a member of multiple political parties and movements. Marais joined the Freedom Front Plus in January 2019 and consequently became the party's Western Cape Premier candidate for the 2019 election. He returned to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in May 2019. Political career Marais was the leader of the People's Congress Party and represented the party in the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1994. He joined the National Party in 1994, and was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament later in the same year. In 1998, the newly-elected Premier of the Western Cape, Gerald Morkel, appointed Marais to the post of Provincial Minister of Health and Welfare. Morkel later dismissed him as Provincial Minister in February 2000 but re-appointed him to the Provincial Cabinet in June, heading the Social Services and Poverty Relief portfolio.