Cobus de Swardt is a South African sociologist. He was head of Transparency International from 2007 to 2017, and is a former chair of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Agenda Council on Corruption.
Education edit
De Swardt earned an MPhil in Political and African Studies from the University of Cape Town, and a PhD in sociology from La Trobe University, Melbourne.[1]
Career edit
In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was active in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, chairing the African National Congress in Cape Town.[1][2][3] He has taught at universities in Australia, Germany, Japan and South Africa. He worked in various countries for multinational corporations, trade unions and research institutes in managerial and research capacities. He also served as a Director of United Nations Global Compact.[2]
De Swardt led the Chronic Poverty Research Centre, an international research and development policy network, in South Africa, and represented it internationally. He served as Global Programmes Director for Transparency International from 2004 and became Acting Managing Director on 30 April 2007.[2] He was head of Transparency International from 2007 to 2017,[3] when he was succeeded by Patricia Moreira.[1][4]
The departure of de Swardt from Transparency International was contentious and led to a settlement agreement between Transparency International and de Swardt in a Labour Court in Berlin.[5] In 2021, de Swardt would publish a book, “Silencing a Whistleblower”, accusing Transparency International of abuse of power.[6]
He was a member and former chair of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Agenda Council on Corruption. In addition, he served on the Board of the WEF Partnering against Corruption Initiative (PACI) and the Berlin Civil Society Centre.[1] He wrote several articles for the WEF on corruption, including topics such as why businesses should be more open[7] and how to end poverty.[8]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "OECD Forum - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development". Oecd.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Cobus de Swardt: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Bloomberg.com. 30 April 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Meet Transparency Int'l MD Cobus de Swardt - Corruption Watch". CorruptionWatch.org. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ e.V., Transparency International. "Patricia Moreira appointed Managing Director of Transparency International". www.transparency.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ "Statement on allegations by Mr. de Swardt - Transparency International". Transparency International. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ Silencing a Whistleblower, A Story of Hypocrisy, Cobus de Swardt, 2021
- ^ de Swart, Cobus (21 January 2016). "4 reasons why business should be more open". weforum.org. World Economic Forum. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ de Swardt, Cobus (23 January 2015). "Want to end poverty? Start with corruption". weforum.org. World Economic Forum. Retrieved 1 April 2019.