SABC3's Great South Africans
Encyclopedia
Great South Africans was a South African television series that aired on SABC3 and hosted by Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu and Denis Beckett. In September 2004, thousands of South Africans took part in an informal nationwide poll to determine the "100 Greatest South Africans" of all time. Votes were cast by telephone, SMS, and the website of the state-run South African Broadcasting Corporation television channel, SABC3, which aired a series of profiles and documentaries in the weeks leading up to the announcement of the top 100. The programme was modelled on the BBC
's "Greatest Britons
" series.
In South Africa, the list was headed by Nelson Mandela
, a predictable and highly popular choice, given his global stature as a statesman and symbol of post-apartheid
liberation and reconciliation. Other popular choices ranged from Professor Christiaan Barnard
, the pioneering heart surgeon, to General Jan Smuts
, wartime Prime Minister and co-founder of the League of Nations
, to Shaka Zulu, the 19th Century warrior leader of the Zulu Nation, to Internet entrepreneur and civilian space traveller Mark Shuttleworth
.
Two days after the list was announced, Nelson Mandela had already received several thousands of votes more than any other candidate.
For example, Hendrik Verwoerd, the "Architect of Apartheid", ranked higher on the list than Albert Luthuli, South Africa's first Nobel Peace laureate, or Chris Hani
, a famous anti-apartheid activist. Also present on the list was Eugène Terre'Blanche
, the head of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
.
Despite the original definition by the SABC that nominees need not have been born in South Africa as long as they had lived in South Africa, some people questioned the inclusion of Hendrik Verwoerd, Mahatma Gandhi
, Cecil John Rhodes
for the very reason that they were not born in South Africa, and J. R. R. Tolkien
because he was born to an English family in Bloemfontein, South Africa, which again returned to England when he was three years old. For example, Verwoerd was born in Amsterdam
in the Netherlands, his father moving the family to South Africa when he was 2, and Rhodes was born in Bishop's Stortford
in the UK, moving to a farm owned by his family in the Natal
colony when he was 18.
Other controversial choices included an 11th placing for Hansie Cronje
, the disgraced former captain of the South African cricket squad, who admitted to taking bribes to influence the outcome of test matches
.
On 14 October the SABC announced that the show was being cancelled, leaving positions 2 to 10 still formally undecided.
Letter columns in some newspapers called the show a farce and used the term "whites with cellphones" to explain the presence of Hendrik Verwoerd and Eugène Terre'Blanche high on the rankings. This view was rebutted by Afrikaans singer-songwriter Steve Hofmeyr
who pointed out that Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
, post-apartheid convicted fraudster, scored high on the list as well. According to Peter Matlare, CEO of the SABC, the show was stopped because "wider participation in the voting process" was necessary.
When the competition was announced, the SABC defined a Great South African as someone who contributed to the "country's life and development". When the show was stopped, the SABC claimed that their definition of a Great South African was actually someone who contributed to South Africa's development "and the promotion of humanity". and the fact that quite a few people on the list did not fit this description contributed to the decision to stop the show.
1. Nelson Mandela
, first president of post-Apartheid South Africa and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1918 – )
2. Christiaan Barnard
, pioneering heart transplant surgeon (1922–2001)
3. F. W. de Klerk, former president and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1936 – )
4. Mahatma Gandhi
, political activist (1869–1948)
5. Nkosi Johnson
, child who died of AIDS (1989–2001)
6. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
, politician and 2nd wife of Nelson Mandela (1936 – )
7. Thabo Mbeki
, second president of post-Apartheid South Africa (1942 – )
8. Gary Player
, golfer (1936 – )
9. Jan Smuts
, statesman (1870–1950)
10. Desmond Tutu
, cleric and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1931 – )
11. Hansie Cronje
, cricketer (1969–2002)
12. Charlize Theron
, actress and Academy Award winner (1975 – )
13. Steve Biko
, nonviolent political activist (1946–1977)
14. Shaka, founder of the Zulu nation (1787–1828)
15. Mangosuthu Buthelezi
, politician and a Zulu prince (1928 – )
16. Tony Leon
, politician (1956 – )
17. Brenda Fassie
, singer (1964–2004)
18. Mark Shuttleworth
, Web entrepreneur, founder of Thawte, distributor of Ubuntu Linux and second fee paying space tourist (1973 – )
19. Hendrik Verwoerd, former prime minister and primary architect of Apartheid (1901–1966)
20. Chris Hani
, political activist who was Secretary General of the SACP when he was assassinated (1942–1993)
21. Bonginkosi Dlamini, also known as "Zola", poet, actor and musician (1977 – )
22. Patricia de Lille
, politician (1951 – )
23. Johnny Clegg, also known as "The White Zulu", musician (1953 – )
24. Helen Suzman
, stateswoman (1917–2009)
25. Eugène Terre'Blanche
founder of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (1941–2010)
26. Pieter-Dirk Uys
political satirist and entertainer (1945 – )
27. Paul Kruger
, four times president of South African Republic (1825–1904)
28. Anton Rupert
, businessman and environmentalist (1916–2006)
29. Jonty Rhodes
, cricketer (1969 – )
30. Leon Schuster
, filmmaker, comedian, actor and prankster (entertainer)
31. Oliver Tambo
, political activist who spent 30 years in exile (1917–1993)
32. Steve Hofmeyr
, musician and actor
33. Walter Sisulu
, political activist (1912–2003)
34. Cyril Ramaphosa
, politician and businessman
35. J. R. R. Tolkien
, author (wrote Lord of the Rings) (1892–1973)
36. Beyers Naude
, cleric and anti-apartheid activist (1915–2004)
37. Ernie Els
, golfer (1969 – )
38. Miriam Makeba
, musician (1932–2008)
39. Patrice Motsepe
, businessman
40. Trevor Manuel
, civil engineer, minister of finance and politician
41. Albert Luthuli, cleric, politician and 1960 Nobel Peace Prize winner († 1967)
42. Robert Sobukwe
, former political activist and founder of the PAC (1924–1978)
43. Tokyo Sexwale
, politician and businessman
44. Danny Jordaan
, politician and soccer administrator
45. Fatima Meer
, scientist and political activist
46. Ahmed Kathrada
, political activist
47. Joe Slovo
, communist politician (1926–1995)
48. Natalie du Toit
, disabled olympic swimmer
49. Jomo Sono
, soccer coach
50. Francois Pienaar
, captain of the Springboks, the winning team in the 1995 Rugby World Cup
51. John Kani
, actor, entertainer and writer
52. Penny Heyns, olympic swimmer
53. Jeremy Mansfield
, radio and TV personality
54. Lucas Radebe
, former Bafana Bafana and Leeds United soccer captain
55. Mamphela Ramphele
, political activist, academic, businesswoman and mother to the son of Steve Biko
56. Cecil Rhodes, businessman (1853–1902)
57. Albertina Sisulu
, political activist and wife of Walter Sisulu (1919–2011 )
58. Aggrey Klaaste
, journalist and editor who advocated Nation Building during the struggle years
59. Alan Paton
, author (1903–1988)
60. Harry Oppenheimer
, businessman (1908–2000)
61. Zackie Achmat
, HIV positive AIDS activist and critic of government AIDS policies
62. Doctor Khumalo
, soccer player
63. Jan van Riebeeck
, first colonial administrator (1619–1677)
64. Bruce Fordyce
, ultra-marathon runner
65. Enoch Sontonga
, teacher, lay-preacher and composer wrote "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika"
66. Zola Budd
, athlete (1966 – )
67. Sol Plaatje
, journalist and political activist (1877–1932)
68. Danie Craven
, rugby player and administrator (1910–1994)
69. Alan Boesak, cleric and politician
70. Felicia Mabuza-Suttle
, talk show host, public speaker and businesswoman
71. Yvonne Chaka Chaka
, musician
72. "Baby" Jakes Matlala, boxer and junior flyweight champion
73. Kaizer Motaung
, founder of Kaizer Chiefs Football Club
74. Basetsana Kumalo, former Miss South Africa, presenter and businesswoman
75. Antjie Krog
, poet, novelist and playwright
76. Dullah Omar
, politician
77. Mandoza
, musician
78. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
, politician and former wife of Jacob Zuma
79. Raymond Ackerman
, businessman
80. Nadine Gordimer
, 1991 Nobel Prize-winning author (1923 – )
81. Daniel François Malan
, former Prime Minister responsible for laying the groundwork for Apartheid (1874–1959)
82. Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
, politician (1940–2010)
83. James Barry Munnik Hertzog
, former Prime Minister (1866–1942)
84. Hector Pieterson
, a young boy whose death has become the symbol of the Soweto uprisings of June 1976
85. Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum, golfer
86. William Smith
, TV teacher and presenter
87. Pieter Willem Botha
, former prime minister and state president (1916–2006)
88. Hugh Masekela
, musician
89. Bulelani Ngcuka
, politician
90. Jody Scheckter
, Formula One world champion (1950 – )
91. George Bizos
, lawyer
92. Mbongeni Ngema
, playwright, actor, choreographer and director
93. PJ Powers
, musician
94. Mimi Coertse
, musician
95. Mrs Ples, the oldest hominid skull found at Sterkfontein cave
96. Abdullah Ibrahim
, aka "Dollar Brand", musician
97. Govan Mbeki
, political activist and father of Thabo Mbeki
98. Jamie Uys
, Film Director (1921–1996)
99. Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef
, artist
100. Athol Fugard
, playwright (1932 – )
Germany ran their version on ZDF
and called it Unsere Besten
(Our Best). The CBC
ran The Greatest Canadian
in 2004. KRO
(part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting) ran the De Grootste Nederlander
(The Greatest Dutchman). The Discovery Channel (in conjunction with AOL
) ran The Greatest American
in May 2005. In Finland, YLE ran Suuret Suomalaiset
(Great Finns). In France Le Plus Grand Français
(The Greatest Frenchman) ran on France 2
. In Belgium.: De Grootste Belg
and Le plus grand belge
. A Czech version called The Greatest Czech (Největší Čech
) aired in June 2005. 100 Welsh Heroes
was the result of an on-line poll carried out in 2003-4. A Bulgarian version, The Great Bulgarians (Великите българи
), finished in February 2007. In Romania, the show called "Mari Români
" (Great Romanians) started in May 2006; on 8 July, Televiziunea Română
(TVR) presented the 100 Greatest Romanians, and on 21 October the Greatest Romanian of all the times. In Portugal, RTP
chose dictator António de Oliveira Salazar
as the Greatest Portuguese. Argentina
ran their version on Telefe
and called it El Gen Argentino
(The Argentine Gene). Started on 27 August 2007. In Spain, Antena 3
chose the current head of state, King Juan Carlos I, as The Most Important Spaniard in History
, on 22 May 2007. Ukraine
ran their version on Inter (TV channel)
and called it Великі українці (The Great Ukrainians). To broadcast 2007–2008 season, 2007.http://www.greatukrainians.com.ua/ A Chilean version, called "Great Chileans" (Grandes Chilenos), aired in 2008 and the chosen winner was Salvador Allende
(former socialist president). In Italy, Rai Due
chose Leonardo Da Vinci
, as the greatest Italian ever
, on 10 February 2010.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's "Greatest Britons
100 Greatest Britons
100 Greatest Britons was broadcast in 2002 by the BBC. The programme was the result of a vote conducted to determine whom the United Kingdom public considers the greatest British people in history. The series, Great Britons, included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further...
" series.
In South Africa, the list was headed by Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, a predictable and highly popular choice, given his global stature as a statesman and symbol of post-apartheid
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
liberation and reconciliation. Other popular choices ranged from Professor Christiaan Barnard
Christiaan Barnard
Christiaan Neethling Barnard was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant.- Early life :...
, the pioneering heart surgeon, to General Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
, wartime Prime Minister and co-founder of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, to Shaka Zulu, the 19th Century warrior leader of the Zulu Nation, to Internet entrepreneur and civilian space traveller Mark Shuttleworth
Mark Shuttleworth
Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2010, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system...
.
Two days after the list was announced, Nelson Mandela had already received several thousands of votes more than any other candidate.
Controversy
At the time when the competition was announced, in June 2004, the SABC gave the assurance that the South African show would not ban certain political figures, as was the case in the German version which banned Nazis from the list. They soon came to regret their decision when the SABC became embroiled in a national controversy over the high rankings accorded to some South Africans who were less widely regarded as "great".For example, Hendrik Verwoerd, the "Architect of Apartheid", ranked higher on the list than Albert Luthuli, South Africa's first Nobel Peace laureate, or Chris Hani
Chris Hani
Chris Hani, born Martin Thembisile Hani was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress . He was a fierce opponent of the apartheid government...
, a famous anti-apartheid activist. Also present on the list was Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche was a former member of South Africa's Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging during the apartheid era...
, the head of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging is a South African far right separatist political and former paramilitary organization, since its creation dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "" in part of South Africa...
.
Despite the original definition by the SABC that nominees need not have been born in South Africa as long as they had lived in South Africa, some people questioned the inclusion of Hendrik Verwoerd, Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, Cecil John Rhodes
Cecil John Rhodes
Cecil John Rhodes PC, DCL was an English-born South African businessman, mining magnate, and politician. He was the founder of the diamond company De Beers, which today markets 40% of the world's rough diamonds and at one time marketed 90%...
for the very reason that they were not born in South Africa, and J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
because he was born to an English family in Bloemfontein, South Africa, which again returned to England when he was three years old. For example, Verwoerd was born in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in the Netherlands, his father moving the family to South Africa when he was 2, and Rhodes was born in Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
in the UK, moving to a farm owned by his family in the Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
colony when he was 18.
Other controversial choices included an 11th placing for Hansie Cronje
Hansie Cronje
Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s...
, the disgraced former captain of the South African cricket squad, who admitted to taking bribes to influence the outcome of test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
.
On 14 October the SABC announced that the show was being cancelled, leaving positions 2 to 10 still formally undecided.
Letter columns in some newspapers called the show a farce and used the term "whites with cellphones" to explain the presence of Hendrik Verwoerd and Eugène Terre'Blanche high on the rankings. This view was rebutted by Afrikaans singer-songwriter Steve Hofmeyr
Steve Hofmeyr
-Career:Hofmeyr matriculated in 1982 at Grey College. After two years compulsory army and border duty, he went to Pretoria Technikon Drama School.-Recording star and performer:...
who pointed out that Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is a South African politician who has held several government positions and headed the African National Congress Women's League. She is currently a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee...
, post-apartheid convicted fraudster, scored high on the list as well. According to Peter Matlare, CEO of the SABC, the show was stopped because "wider participation in the voting process" was necessary.
When the competition was announced, the SABC defined a Great South African as someone who contributed to the "country's life and development". When the show was stopped, the SABC claimed that their definition of a Great South African was actually someone who contributed to South Africa's development "and the promotion of humanity". and the fact that quite a few people on the list did not fit this description contributed to the decision to stop the show.
The list
This is the original list of "100 Greatest South Africans", with positions 2 to 10 still to be confirmed by public vote, before the show was taken off the air:1. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, first president of post-Apartheid South Africa and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1918 – )
2. Christiaan Barnard
Christiaan Barnard
Christiaan Neethling Barnard was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant.- Early life :...
, pioneering heart transplant surgeon (1922–2001)
3. F. W. de Klerk, former president and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1936 – )
4. Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, political activist (1869–1948)
5. Nkosi Johnson
Nkosi Johnson
Nkosi Johnson was a South African child with HIV/AIDS, who made a powerful impact on public perceptions of the pandemic and its effects before his death at the age of 12. He was ranked fifth amongst SABC3's Great South Africans...
, child who died of AIDS (1989–2001)
6. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is a South African politician who has held several government positions and headed the African National Congress Women's League. She is currently a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee...
, politician and 2nd wife of Nelson Mandela (1936 – )
7. Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
, second president of post-Apartheid South Africa (1942 – )
8. Gary Player
Gary Player
Gary Player DMS; OIG is a South African professional golfer. With his nine major championship victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Player has won 165 tournaments on six continents over six...
, golfer (1936 – )
9. Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
, statesman (1870–1950)
10. Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
, cleric and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1931 – )
11. Hansie Cronje
Hansie Cronje
Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s...
, cricketer (1969–2002)
12. Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...
, actress and Academy Award winner (1975 – )
13. Steve Biko
Steve Biko
Stephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the...
, nonviolent political activist (1946–1977)
14. Shaka, founder of the Zulu nation (1787–1828)
15. Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
, politician and a Zulu prince (1928 – )
16. Tony Leon
Tony Leon
Anthony James "Tony" Leon is a South African politician who served as leader of the opposition from 1999-2007 as leader of the Democratic Alliance. Although still a member of the DA, he currently serves as the South African Ambassador to Argentina under the ANC government.-Early life:Leon grew up...
, politician (1956 – )
17. Brenda Fassie
Brenda Fassie
Brenda Fassie , was a South African pop singer. She was known for her "outrageousness" and widely considered a voice for disenfranchised blacks during apartheid. She was affectionately known as the Queen of African Pop and her nickname amongst fans was Mabrr.-Biography:Brenda was born in Langa,...
, singer (1964–2004)
18. Mark Shuttleworth
Mark Shuttleworth
Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2010, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system...
, Web entrepreneur, founder of Thawte, distributor of Ubuntu Linux and second fee paying space tourist (1973 – )
19. Hendrik Verwoerd, former prime minister and primary architect of Apartheid (1901–1966)
20. Chris Hani
Chris Hani
Chris Hani, born Martin Thembisile Hani was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress . He was a fierce opponent of the apartheid government...
, political activist who was Secretary General of the SACP when he was assassinated (1942–1993)
21. Bonginkosi Dlamini, also known as "Zola", poet, actor and musician (1977 – )
22. Patricia de Lille
Patricia de Lille
Patricia de Lille is a South African politician and Mayor of Cape Town. She is also, concurrently, the leader of the Independent Democrats, a South African political party which she formed in 2003 during a floor-crossing window...
, politician (1951 – )
23. Johnny Clegg, also known as "The White Zulu", musician (1953 – )
24. Helen Suzman
Helen Suzman
Helen Suzman, DBE was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician.-Biography:Helen Suzman, a life-long citizen of South Africa, was born as Helen Gavronsky in 1917 to Jewish immigrants....
, stateswoman (1917–2009)
25. Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche was a former member of South Africa's Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging during the apartheid era...
founder of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (1941–2010)
26. Pieter-Dirk Uys
Pieter-Dirk Uys
Pieter-Dirk Uys is a South African satirist, active as a performer, author, and social activist. He is the son of a Calvinist Afrikaner father and Berlin-born Jewish mother and had an NG Kerk upbringing. He began his dramatic career as a serious playwright, switching to one-man revues at the...
political satirist and entertainer (1945 – )
27. Paul Kruger
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
, four times president of South African Republic (1825–1904)
28. Anton Rupert
Anton Rupert
Dr. Anthony Edward Rupert was an Afrikaner South African billionaire entrepreneur, businessman and conservationist. He was born and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. He studied in Pretoria and ultimately moved to Stellenbosch, where he established the Rembrandt Group ...
, businessman and environmentalist (1916–2006)
29. Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes
Jonathan Neil "Jonty" Rhodes is a former South African Test and One Day International cricketer who played for the South African cricket team between 1992 and 2003.Rhodes was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province, South Africa...
, cricketer (1969 – )
30. Leon Schuster
Leon Schuster
Leon Ernest "Schuks" Schuster is a South African filmmaker, comedian, actor, presenter and singer.- Early life :Schuster was drawn to the filmmaking process at an early age...
, filmmaker, comedian, actor and prankster (entertainer)
31. Oliver Tambo
Oliver Tambo
Oliver Reginald Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and a central figure in the African National Congress .-Biography:Oliver Tambo was born in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now Eastern Cape...
, political activist who spent 30 years in exile (1917–1993)
32. Steve Hofmeyr
Steve Hofmeyr
-Career:Hofmeyr matriculated in 1982 at Grey College. After two years compulsory army and border duty, he went to Pretoria Technikon Drama School.-Recording star and performer:...
, musician and actor
33. Walter Sisulu
Walter Sisulu
Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress .-Family and Education:...
, political activist (1912–2003)
34. Cyril Ramaphosa
Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa is a South African lawyer, trade union leader, activist, politician and businessman. He was born in Soweto, Gauteng province...
, politician and businessman
35. J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, author (wrote Lord of the Rings) (1892–1973)
36. Beyers Naude
Beyers Naudé
Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé was a South African cleric, theologian and the leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist...
, cleric and anti-apartheid activist (1915–2004)
37. Ernie Els
Ernie Els
Theodore Ernest "Ernie" Els is a South African professional golfer, who has been one of the top professional players in the world since the mid-1990s. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature along with his fluid, seemingly effortless golf swing...
, golfer (1969 – )
38. Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
, musician (1932–2008)
39. Patrice Motsepe
Patrice Motsepe
Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe is a South African mining magnate and 'oligarch' as he was major beneficiary of the South African governments Black Economic Empowerment policies. His company, African Rainbow Minerals, has interests in gold, ferrous metals, base metals, and platinum...
, businessman
40. Trevor Manuel
Trevor Manuel
Trevor Andrew Manuel is a South African politician, currently serving in the Cabinet of South Africa as Minister in the Presidency in charge of the National Planning Commission...
, civil engineer, minister of finance and politician
41. Albert Luthuli, cleric, politician and 1960 Nobel Peace Prize winner († 1967)
42. Robert Sobukwe
Robert Sobukwe
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe was a South African political dissident, who founded the Pan Africanist Congress in opposition to the apartheid regime. In 2004 Sobukwe was voted 42nd in the SABC3's Great South Africans....
, former political activist and founder of the PAC (1924–1978)
43. Tokyo Sexwale
Tokyo Sexwale
Mosima Gabriel Sexwale , commonly known as Tokyo Sexwale , is the current Minister of Human Settlements of South Africa. A South African businessman, politician, anti-apartheid activist, and former political prisoner. His nickname of "Tokyo" is derived from his involvement with the sport of...
, politician and businessman
44. Danny Jordaan
Danny Jordaan
Daniel Alexander "Danny" Jordaan is a South African sports administrator as well as a former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist. He led South Africa's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup bid, the first successful one for Africa. He also led their unsuccessful bid four years earlier for...
, politician and soccer administrator
45. Fatima Meer
Fatima Meer
Fatima Meer was a South African writer, academic, screenwriter, and prominent anti-apartheid activist.-Early life:...
, scientist and political activist
46. Ahmed Kathrada
Ahmed Kathrada
Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada is a South African politician and former political prisoner and anti-apartheid activist....
, political activist
47. Joe Slovo
Joe Slovo
For Joe Slovo Informal Settlement in Cape Town, see: Joe Slovo .Joe Slovo was a South African politician, long-time leader of the South African Communist Party , and leading member of the African National Congress.-Life:Slovo was born in Obeliai, Lithuania to a Jewish family who emigrated to South...
, communist politician (1926–1995)
48. Natalie du Toit
Natalie du Toit
Natalie du Toit is a South African swimmer. She is best known for the gold medals she won at the 2004 Paralympic Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. She was one of two Paralympians to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; the other being table tennis player Natalia Partyka...
, disabled olympic swimmer
49. Jomo Sono
Jomo Sono
Ephraim Matsilela Sono is a South African soccer club owner and coach and was also a star soccer player....
, soccer coach
50. Francois Pienaar
Francois Pienaar
Jacobus Francois Pienaar is a South African former rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup...
, captain of the Springboks, the winning team in the 1995 Rugby World Cup
51. John Kani
John Kani
Bonsile John Kani is a South African actor, director and playwright.He was born in New Brighton, South Africa.Kani joined The Serpent Players in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception.These...
, actor, entertainer and writer
52. Penny Heyns, olympic swimmer
53. Jeremy Mansfield
Jeremy Mansfield
Jeremy Mansfield is a South African radio and television personality. He has worked on numerous radio stations as presenter and voice-over artist, and has also presented numerous television shows, and inserts for some popular television magazine programmes....
, radio and TV personality
54. Lucas Radebe
Lucas Radebe
Lucas Valeriu Radebe is a former Leeds United and South African football player. During his career, Radebe was renowned for being a world-class centre back and a great ambassador for the sport....
, former Bafana Bafana and Leeds United soccer captain
55. Mamphela Ramphele
Mamphela Ramphele
Mamphela Aletta Ramphele is a South African academic, businesswoman and medical doctor and was an anti-apartheid activist. She is a current trustee on the board of the Rockefeller Foundation in New York.-Life and career:...
, political activist, academic, businesswoman and mother to the son of Steve Biko
56. Cecil Rhodes, businessman (1853–1902)
57. Albertina Sisulu
Albertina Sisulu
Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu was a black South African anti–apartheid activist, and the widow of fellow activist Walter Sisulu . She was affectionately known as Ma Sisulu throughout her lifetime by the South African public. In 2004 she was voted 57th in the SABC3's Great South Africans...
, political activist and wife of Walter Sisulu (1919–2011 )
58. Aggrey Klaaste
Aggrey Klaaste
Aggrey Zola Klaaste was a South African newspaperjournalist and editor. He was best known for being editor of the Soweto-based newspaper, the Sowetan, from 1988 to 2002...
, journalist and editor who advocated Nation Building during the struggle years
59. Alan Paton
Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton was a South African author and anti-apartheid activist.-Family:Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province , the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal in his hometown, followed...
, author (1903–1988)
60. Harry Oppenheimer
Harry Oppenheimer
Harry Frederick Oppenheimer was a prominent South African businessman and one of the world's richest men...
, businessman (1908–2000)
61. Zackie Achmat
Zackie Achmat
Zackie Achmat is a South African activist, most widely known as founder and chairman of the Treatment Action Campaign and for his work on the behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa.-Early life:...
, HIV positive AIDS activist and critic of government AIDS policies
62. Doctor Khumalo
Doctor Khumalo
Theophilus Doctorson "Doctor" Khumalo is a retired South African soccer player. He is best known for being a star midfielder for Kaizer Chiefs as well as the South African national team, Bafana Bafana.-Career:...
, soccer player
63. Jan van Riebeeck
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town.-Biography:...
, first colonial administrator (1619–1677)
64. Bruce Fordyce
Bruce Fordyce
Bruce Fordyce is a South African marathon and ultramarathon athlete. He is best known for having won the South African Comrades Marathon a record nine times, of which eight wins were consecutive. He also won the London to Brighton Marathon three years in a row...
, ultra-marathon runner
65. Enoch Sontonga
Enoch Sontonga
Enoch Mankayi Sontonga was the composer of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika , which has been part of the South African national anthem since 1994. It was also the official African National Congress anthem since 1925 and is still the national anthem of Tanzania and Zambia...
, teacher, lay-preacher and composer wrote "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika"
66. Zola Budd
Zola Budd
Zola Pieterse, better known by her maiden name of Zola Budd , is a former Olympic track and field competitor who, in less than three years, twice broke the world record in the women's 5000 metres and twice was the women's winner at the World Cross Country Championships...
, athlete (1966 – )
67. Sol Plaatje
Sol Plaatje
Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje was a South African intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator, and writer. The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, which includes the city of Kimberley, was named after him.-Early life:...
, journalist and political activist (1877–1932)
68. Danie Craven
Danie Craven
Daniël Hartman Craven , more famously known as Danie Craven or simply Doc Craven, is a former Western Province, Eastern Province, Northern Transvaal and Springbok rugby union player as well as arguably South Africa's best and best-known rugby administrator...
, rugby player and administrator (1910–1994)
69. Alan Boesak, cleric and politician
70. Felicia Mabuza-Suttle
Felicia Mabuza-Suttle
Felicia Mabuza-Suttle is a South African entrepreneur and talk show hostess.Dr. Felicia Mabuza-Suttle is an international award winning entrepreneur, highly acclaimed talk show host, sought after speaker, lively emcee and best selling author.She is President and co-owner of Leadership Success...
, talk show host, public speaker and businesswoman
71. Yvonne Chaka Chaka
Yvonne Chaka Chaka
Yvonne Chaka Chaka is a South African singer.Dubbed the "Princess of Africa", Chaka Chaka has been at the forefront of South African popular music for 20 years...
, musician
72. "Baby" Jakes Matlala, boxer and junior flyweight champion
73. Kaizer Motaung
Kaizer Motaung
Kaizer Motaung is a former South African soccer player and founder of the Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, of which he is still chairman and managing director...
, founder of Kaizer Chiefs Football Club
74. Basetsana Kumalo, former Miss South Africa, presenter and businesswoman
75. Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog, born October 23, 1952 in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, South Africa, is a prominent South African poet, academic and writer. In 2004 she joined the Arts faculty of the University of the Western Cape.- Early life :...
, poet, novelist and playwright
76. Dullah Omar
Dullah Omar
Abdullah Mohamed Omar , better known as Dullah Omar, was a South African anti-Apartheid activist, lawyer, and a minister in the South African cabinet from 1994 till his death.-Early life and education:...
, politician
77. Mandoza
Mandoza
Mduduzi Tshabalala , well known as Mandoza, is a South African kwaito musician.- Early life :Mandoza was born in the Zola South section of Soweto, where he shared a house with his mother, his grandparents and two sisters. He never knew his father, his mother claiming that he was murdered the same...
, musician
78. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma is a South African politician and was an anti-apartheid activist. She was South Africa's Minister of Health from 1994 to 1999, under President Nelson Mandela, then Minister of Foreign Affairs from 17 June 1999 to 10 May 2009, under Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema...
, politician and former wife of Jacob Zuma
79. Raymond Ackerman
Raymond Ackerman
Raymond Ackerman is a South African businessman, who purchased the Pick 'n Pay supermarket group from its founder Mr Jack Goldin . Raymond Ackerman was chairman until he stepped down in 2010. He is also well known for his philanthropic activities...
, businessman
80. Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer is a South African writer and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature when she was recognised as a woman "who through her magnificent epic writing has – in the words of Alfred Nobel – been of very great benefit to humanity".Her writing has long dealt...
, 1991 Nobel Prize-winning author (1923 – )
81. Daniel François Malan
Daniel François Malan
Daniel François Malan , more commonly known as D.F. Malan, was the Prime Minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. He is seen as a champion of Afrikaner nationalism. His National Party government came to power on the program of apartheid and began its comprehensive implementation.- Biography...
, former Prime Minister responsible for laying the groundwork for Apartheid (1874–1959)
82. Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
Frederik van Zyl Slabbert was a South African political analyst, businessman and politician. He is best known for having been the leader of the official opposition — the Progressive Federal Party — in the House of Assembly from 1979 to 1986.-Early life, education and academic career:Born in...
, politician (1940–2010)
83. James Barry Munnik Hertzog
James Barry Munnik Hertzog
James Barry Munnik Hertzog, better known as J. B. M. Hertzog was a Boer general during the second Anglo-Boer War who later went on to become Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1924 to 1939...
, former Prime Minister (1866–1942)
84. Hector Pieterson
Hector Pieterson
Hector Pieterson became the subject of an iconic image of the 1976 Soweto uprising in South Africa when a news photograph by Sam Nzima of the dying Hector being carried by another student while his sister ran next to them, was published around the world. He was killed at the age of 12 when the...
, a young boy whose death has become the symbol of the Soweto uprisings of June 1976
85. Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum, golfer
86. William Smith
William Smith (South African)
William Smith is South Africa's best-known and most popular television science and mathematics teacher.-Early life and education:Smith was born in Grahamstown and attended St. Andrew's Prep before matriculating at Union High School in Graaff-Reinet...
, TV teacher and presenter
87. Pieter Willem Botha
Pieter Willem Botha
Pieter Willem Botha , commonly known as "P. W." and Die Groot Krokodil , was the prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989.First elected to Parliament in 1948, Botha was for eleven years head of the Afrikaner National Party and the...
, former prime minister and state president (1916–2006)
88. Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...
, musician
89. Bulelani Ngcuka
Bulelani Ngcuka
Bulelani T Ngcuka was the first national Director of Public Prosecutions in South Africa, and is the husband of former Deputy President of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. He was embroiled in controversy after being accused of being an apartheid spy...
, politician
90. Jody Scheckter
Jody Scheckter
Jody David Scheckter is a South African former auto racing driver, the Formula One World Drivers Champion.-Career:Scheckter was born in East London, South Africa and educated at Selborne College.-Formula One:...
, Formula One world champion (1950 – )
91. George Bizos
George Bizos
George Bizos is a distinguished human rights advocate who campaigned against apartheid in South Africa, most notably during the Rivonia Trial.-Early life:...
, lawyer
92. Mbongeni Ngema
Mbongeni Ngema
Mbongeni Ngema a South African writer, lyricist, composer and director was born in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal . He started his career as a theatre backing guitarist.He is married to actress Leleti Khumalo...
, playwright, actor, choreographer and director
93. PJ Powers
PJ Powers
Penelope Jane Dunlop also known as PJ Powers or Thandeka has enjoyed a highly successful musical career in South Africa spanning more than 15 years. P.J. Powers has recorded 15 albums and is well known for her UK chart hit "World In Union" in 1995.-Early life and career:Penelope was born in...
, musician
94. Mimi Coertse
Mimi Coertse
Mimi Coertse , is a South African soprano.-Early life:Coertse, born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, matriculated at the Helpmekaar Girls High School in Johannesburg. She began vocal studies in South Africa in 1949. In July 1953 she married the broadcaster and composer Dawid Engela. She left South Africa...
, musician
95. Mrs Ples, the oldest hominid skull found at Sterkfontein cave
96. Abdullah Ibrahim
Abdullah Ibrahim
Abdullah Ibrahim , born Adolph Johannes Brand, 9 October 1934 in Cape Town, South Africa, and formerly known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer...
, aka "Dollar Brand", musician
97. Govan Mbeki
Govan Mbeki
Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki was a South African politician, and father of the former South African president Thabo Mbeki and political economist Moeletsi Mbeki...
, political activist and father of Thabo Mbeki
98. Jamie Uys
Jamie Uys
Jacobus Johannes Uys , better known as Jamie Uys, was a South African film director.-Early life:Prior to his foray into film, Uys was a math teacher in his hometown of Boksburg. He then married Hettie, a fellow math teacher and the couple started farming and opening trading posts along the Palala...
, Film Director (1921–1996)
99. Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef
Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef
Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef Pretoria, was a South African landscape artist, generally considered to be one of the best of the old South African masters...
, artist
100. Athol Fugard
Athol Fugard
Athol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in English, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy-Award winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood...
, playwright (1932 – )
See also
- List of South Africans
- Top 100Top 100Top 100 may refer to:*Billboard Hot 100, the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine...
- They shaped our centuryThey shaped our centuryThe They shaped our century survey was a top 100 list published in 1999 about which people had the greatest influence on South Africa during the twentieth century. The survey was run by South African media giant Media24 among users of its web portal. This survey preceded the SABC Great South...
, a survey by Media24 in 1999 about 100 most influential South Africans (and people associated with South Africa) of the twentieth century
Other editions
- Other countries have produced similar shows, see also: Greatest Britons spin-offsGreatest Britons spin-offsThe following is a list of spin-offs of the 2002 100 Greatest Britons program produced by the BBC.- External links :* *...
Germany ran their version on ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
and called it Unsere Besten
Unsere Besten
Unsere Besten was a television series shown in German public television in November 2003, similar to the BBC series 100 Greatest Britons....
(Our Best). The CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
ran The Greatest Canadian
The Greatest Canadian
Officially launched on April 5, 2004, The Greatest Canadian was a television program series by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to determine who is considered to be the greatest Canadian of all time, at least among those who watched and participated in the program...
in 2004. KRO
KRO
KRO, or Katholieke Radio Omroep , is a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcasts the bulk of its television output on the Nederland 1 channel. KRO is also responsible for managing broadcasts made by the Catholic Church...
(part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting) ran the De Grootste Nederlander
De Grootste Nederlander
De Grootste Nederlander was a public poll held in 2004 by the broadcasting company KRO of the Publieke Omroep. The series is based on the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons...
(The Greatest Dutchman). The Discovery Channel (in conjunction with AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
) ran The Greatest American
The Greatest American
The Greatest American was a four-part American television series hosted by Matt Lauer in 2005. The show featured biographies and lists of influential persons in U.S. history, and culminated in a contest in which millions in the audience nominated and voted for the person they felt was the "greatest...
in May 2005. In Finland, YLE ran Suuret Suomalaiset
Suuret suomalaiset
Suuret suomalaiset was a 2004 television show broadcast in Finland by YLE , which determined the 100 greatest Finns of all time according to the opinions of its viewers. The viewers were able to vote during a programme which lasted from October to December 2004...
(Great Finns). In France Le Plus Grand Français
Le Plus Grand Français
Le Plus Grand Français de tous les temps was a France 2 show of early 2005, based on an original series of Great Britons on the BBC. The show asked the French viewers who they thought was the Greatest Frenchman or Frenchwoman...
(The Greatest Frenchman) ran on France 2
France 2
France 2 is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4, France 5 and France Ô...
. In Belgium.: De Grootste Belg
De Grootste Belg
De Grootste Belg was a 2005 vote conducted by Belgian public TV broadcaster Canvas, public radio broadcaster Radio 1, and newspaper De Standaard, to determine who is the Greatest Belgian of all time...
and Le plus grand belge
Le plus grand Belge
Le plus grand Belge , was a television show on the Belgian French-speaking public channel RTBF. In the program the audience could vote for the greatest Belgian by using the website, sending an SMS or using the telephone...
. A Czech version called The Greatest Czech (Největší Čech
Nejvetší Cech
Největší Čech is the Czech spin-off of the BBC Greatest Britons show; a television poll of the populace to name the greatest Czech in history. The series was broadcast by the national public-service broadcaster, Česká televize...
) aired in June 2005. 100 Welsh Heroes
100 Welsh Heroes
100 Welsh Heroes was an opinion poll run in Wales as a response to the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons poll of 2002. The Welsh poll was carried out mainly on the internet, starting on 8 September 2003 and finishing on 23 February 2004...
was the result of an on-line poll carried out in 2003-4. A Bulgarian version, The Great Bulgarians (Великите българи
Velikite Balgari
Velikite Balgari was the Bulgarian spin-off of the 2002 Greatest Britons program produced by the BBC. Aired on the Bulgarian National Television's Kanal 1, its first stage began on 9 June 2006 and finished on 10 December, with a show on 23 December announcing the names of the Top 100 as chosen by...
), finished in February 2007. In Romania, the show called "Mari Români
Mari Români
In 2006, the Romanian Television conducted a vote to determine whom the general public considers the 100 greatest Romanians of all time, in a version of the British TV show 100 greatest Britons...
" (Great Romanians) started in May 2006; on 8 July, Televiziunea Română
Televiziunea Româna
Televiziunea Română , more commonly referred to as TVR , is the short name for Societatea Românǎ de Televiziune ; acronym: SRTV. SRTV is the national state-owned public service television broadcaster of Romania...
(TVR) presented the 100 Greatest Romanians, and on 21 October the Greatest Romanian of all the times. In Portugal, RTP
Rádio e Televisão de Portugal
Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, S.A.,commonly known as RTP, is Portugal's public service broadcasting organization. It operates four terrestrial television channels and three national radio channels, as well as several satellite and cable offerings....
chose dictator António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
as the Greatest Portuguese. Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
ran their version on Telefe
Telefe
Televisión Federal S.A., best known as Telefe and later as TLF, is an Argentine television network. Formerly known as Canal Once , a state-run network, it was privatised and established as Telefe in 1989, when and News Corporation took over the channel...
and called it El Gen Argentino
El Gen Argentino
El Gen Argentino was the Argentine spin-off of the 2002 Greatest Britons programme produced by the BBC. Launched on 27 August 2007, it was a television program series by Telefe, to determine which historical personality best represents Argentina, and who possesses the Argentine Gene...
(The Argentine Gene). Started on 27 August 2007. In Spain, Antena 3
Antena 3 (Spain)
Antena 3 is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned by Antena 3 de Televisión. Some of the more popular programmes broadcast by Antena 3 include Aquí no hay quien viva, El Barco, Los Protegidos, Los Simpson and El Internado....
chose the current head of state, King Juan Carlos I, as The Most Important Spaniard in History
El Español de la Historia
El Español De La Historia was an Antena 3 show which aired on May 2007, based on the original BBC series 100 Greatest Britons. The show asked 3,000 citizens about the Greatest Spanish man or woman via an opinion poll....
, on 22 May 2007. Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
ran their version on Inter (TV channel)
Inter (TV channel)
Inter is the major TV channel in Ukraine. Based on it later was formed the whole new media group with variety of different other channels. Inter is among the top-rated networks in Ukraine, competing with such as 1+1 and Pershyi Natsionalnyi channels...
and called it Великі українці (The Great Ukrainians). To broadcast 2007–2008 season, 2007.http://www.greatukrainians.com.ua/ A Chilean version, called "Great Chileans" (Grandes Chilenos), aired in 2008 and the chosen winner was Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
(former socialist president). In Italy, Rai Due
Rai Due
Rai 2 is one of the three main television channels broadcast by Italian public television company RAI alongside with Rai 1 and Rai 3. Rai 2 first started transmissions on November 4, 1961...
chose Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, as the greatest Italian ever
Il più grande italiano di tutti i tempi
Il più grande italiano di tutti i tempi was an Italian television show based on the British 100 Greatest Britons transmitted on Rai 2 in January and February 2010....
, on 10 February 2010.