Frank Themba Mdlalose (29 November 1931 – 4 April 2021) was the first Premier of the newly renamed KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, after the African National Congress (ANC) won the country's first all-inclusive general election on 27 April 1994, while the Inkatha Freedom Party won a majority in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature.
He then attended the Fort Hare University - (alongside future Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, to whom he is distantly related) - where he obtained a diploma.
Mdlalose continued his studies at the University of Natal and in 1958 he obtained his MB Ch B degree and became a resident doctor at Durban's King Edward Hospital.
This is the first time I have met a black man with an intelligence equal to, or superior to, my own.” To which Frank responded, “I, too, thank the Chair for having organised this conference.
During this time, in 1996, he had a meeting with the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, who was on a high-profile visit to South Africa.