Horatio Hendricks

Hendricks was born and grew up in Hillside, Port Elizabeth. He received his teaching qualification from the old Vista University. He then proceeded to work as a teacher at Andrieskraal Primary School for 22 years and was principal for the last 12 years. Hendricks later became a member of the Democratic Alliance. He became a DA councillor in the Cacadu District Municipality (now the Sarah Baartman District Municipality) in 2009 and chaired the district's Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) from 2011 to 2012.^[2]

Following the DA's victory in the Kouga Local Municipality in the 2016 local government elections, Hendricks was elected to serve as the municipality's council speaker for the 2016–2021 term.^[3] Executive Mayor Elza van Lingen died from cancer in April 2018. Hendricks was then elected as executive mayor while DA councillor Hattingh Bornman replaced Hendricks as council speaker.^[4] In June 2021, Hendricks wrote to the provincial government to request that the municipality be declared a disaster area due to the severe drought.^[5]

In September 2021, Hendricks was announced as the DA's mayoral candidate for the Kouga municipality ahead of the local government elections on 1 November 2021.^[6] In October 2021, News24's Out of Order Index rated the Kouga Municipality as the best performing municipality in the Eastern Cape.^[7] The DA retained its outright majority on the municipal council on 1 November 2021.^[8] Hendricks was re-elected unopposed as mayor on 17 November 2021.^[9]

In February 2023, Hendricks was elected as one of three deputy provincial chairpersons of the DA.^[10]

Hendricks resigned as Kouga mayor and as a PR councillor on 26 June 2023 after he was selected to fill the casual vacancy that arose when DA MPL Edmund van Vuuren resigned from the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature.^[11] The PR councillor vacancy was filled by Gregory Stuurman from Loerie and deputy mayor Hattingh Bornman was elected to succeed Hendricks as mayor on 30 June 2023.^[12] Hendricks was sworn in as a member of the Provincial Legislature on 7 July 2023.^[13]