After the end of apartheid, Jele served briefly in the National Assembly before President Nelson Mandela appointed him as an ambassador in 1995.
[2] Jele was the ANC's director of broadcasting from 1970 to 1971 and secretary for African affairs at the World Peace Council in Helsinki, Finland from 1970 to 1971.
[3] He also remained one of the ANC's foremost policy intellectuals and edited two newsletters on global affairs, Focus on Africa and The Peace Courier.
[3] He succeeded Joe Nhlanhla as head of the secretariat of the ANC's Politico-Military Council from 1987 until 1990,[2] when he returned to South Africa during the negotiations to end apartheid.
[1] He remained in that position until 1999,[3] and during that time he represented South Africa during stints as vice-president of the United Nations General Assembly and chairperson of the Bureau of Non-Aligned Countries.
[13] On 22 April 2008, President Mbeki awarded Jele the Order of Luthuli in silver for "His excellent contribution to the fight against the apartheid system in South Africa".