Michael Cardo

Michael John Cardo (born 28 June 1977) is a South African author and politician who served as the Shadow Minister of Employment and Labour from June 2019 until February 2024. He was elected to the National Assembly of South Africa in May 2014. Between June 2015 and June 2019, he was the Shadow Minister of Economic Development.

He resigned from Parliament effective on 31 January 2024.

Born in Durban, he was educated at the University of Natal and the University of Cambridge. From the latter institution, he holds a PhD in History. He worked as a political researcher, speech writer and policy analyst before being elected to Parliament in
2014.

His previous biography, Opening Men’s Eyes: Peter Brown and the Liberal Struggle for South Africa, was published by Jonathan Ball in 2010.

Author's books

1. OPPENHEIMER_front_approved_300dpi

Harry Oppenheimer

In the first, full-scale biography of Harry Oppenheimer, based on unrestricted access to his subject’s private papers and extensive interviews with family members and close associates, Michael Cardo eschews both the corporate hype and the political propaganda to produce a vivid, fully rounded portrait. He tackles thorny questions of legacy and Oppenheimer’s complicity with the oppressive racial order of the past.

Buy Online