Dr Hilton Fisher was born on 1 December 1966 in Cape Town. After completing his schooling he pursued an interest in education by pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988, followed by a Higher Diploma in Education in 1989 at the University of the Western Cape. He began his teaching career in Cape Town’s Mitchell’s Plain in 1990. Whist teaching, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree at the University of the Western Cape and completed it in 1993. During his teaching career he played an active role in promoting language proficiency and impressing upon the children in the community the important role that education can play in extricating them from poverty.

In 1996 he accepted a position in the democratic Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, where he joined the Language Services Section as a translator/editor. This position required him to provide translations of Parliamentary speeches for purposes of publication in the Hansard. Whilst at Parliament, he was promoted to Senior Editor in the Legislation and Proceedings Section, a position that required close cooperation with whips of political parties in relation to procedural matters, order papers, committee reports and minutes of proceedings. He later joined the National Treasury and was seconded to the Government Employees Pension Fund where he performed duty as the Head of Communications and Client Services.

In 1998 he completed a master’s degree in public administration. This degree was specifically geared to empowering a new cadre of managers in South Africa immediately after the first democratic election.

Dr Fisher also completed a PhD degree in public affairs at UP’s School of Public Management and Administration in 2006. His area of specialisation related mainly to information and communications technology in public management and administration with a strong focus on freedom of information, the role of the media in decision-making, political communications and e-government.

He further completed an honours degree in international politics at the University of South Africa, with a nuance toward South Africa in the international political economy; international political theory; integration and disintegration: African and international perspectives; conflict, peace and security studies; and politics in the 21^st century.

Coupled with the afore-mentioned academic profile, Dr Fisher has extensive experience as a manager in the public service sector, particularly in governance, management, administration and secretariat functions. His last position in the public service sector was in the Cabinet Secretariat in the Cabinet Office. Dr Fisher was appointed by the President of South Africa, Mr.Jacob Zuma, as South Africa’s Ambassador designate to the Republic of Chile.

Dr Fisher continues to display a keen interest in academia in that he continues to have close ties with both the University of Pretoria and the University of the Western Cape as a lecturer and external examiner. He has attended a number of international conferences and presented papers on, amongst other, truth, social justice and forgiveness; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the New Partnership for African Development; and e-government. He also attended several conferences related to public management and administration under the auspices of the Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management.