Ronnie Kasrils, born 1938 in Johan­nes­burg, joined the South Afri­can Commu­nist Party at the age of 23. He was a foun­ding member of the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the para­mi­li­tary wing of the Afri­can Natio­nal Congress (ANC). After recei­ving mili­tary and intel­li­gence trai­ning in the Soviet Union and the GDR, Kasrils helped to estab­lish a sophisti­ca­ted under­ground network of anti-apart­heid figh­ters from the mid-1960s onwards. Follo­wing the victory over apart­heid, Kasrils served as Minis­ter of Water Affairs and Forestry (1999–2004) and Minis­ter of Intel­li­gence Services (2004–2008) in the ANC governments.

He is known for his unwa­ve­ring support of Pales­tine. His latest book Inter­na­tio­nal Brigade Against Apart­heid: Secrets of the War that Libe­ra­ted South Africa coll­ec­ted the expe­ri­en­ces of people around the world who actively supported the fight against apartheid.