Ronald Ozzy Lamola (born 21 November 1983) is a South African lawyer and politician, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, and a member of the African National Congress (ANC). He has also been serving as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 22 May 2019. He is a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee and National Working Committee. Lamola had previously been involved in the African National Congress Youth League. Early life and education Ronald Ozzy Lamola was born 21 November 1983 in the town of Bushbuckridge, then part of South Africa's Transvaal Province. He joined the ANC Youth League at the age of thirteen in 1996. In 2000, he matriculated from Mchacka High School. He soon enrolled for a law degree at the University of Venda. During his time at the university, he was President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) and Chairperson of the South African Students Congress in Limpopo. He achieved a practical legal training degree from the University of South Africa in 2006. In 2008, he obtained a post-graduate certificate in corporate law from the University of South Africa. Later on, he received a post-graduate certificate in banking law and the financial markets. Lamola acquired an LLM in corporate law from the University of Pretoria. He attained a post-graduate certificate in telecommunications policy and regulation and management from Wits Enterprise. He holds two master's degrees from the University of Pretoria. Career Lamola started his law career as a lawyer at TMN Kgomo and Associates in 2006. Later on, in 2009, he was employed as a manager of the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality. He was the Director in the Office of the Mpumalanga MEC for Culture, Sports and Recreation from 2009 until 2011. Shortly after in 2011, he briefly served as the acting spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza. He is a former Deputy President of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He served alongside Youth League President Julius Malema prior to Malema's expulsion from the position in 2012 for bringing the party into disrepute. Lamola is a fierce critic of former ANC President Jacob Zuma. He openly endorsed Kgalema Motlanthe to succeed Zuma in 2012. For the 2014 elections, Lamola was a candidate for the National Assembly since he was 175th on the ANC's national list. Due to the ANC's electoral performance, he was not elected to Parliament. After the