President
Patricia de Lille, the president of the Independent Democrats, has been active in politics for a quarter of a century. She is known for her role as a trade unionist in the struggle and as the initial whistle-blower on the infamous arms-deal corruption.

In 1988 she was elected vice-president of the National Council of Trade Unions. She became an MP in 1994 after leading the PAC delegation in the constitutional negotiations in Kempton Park and went on to chair the parliamentary committee on transport until 1999. On March 26 2003 she formed the Independent Democrats, which won national and provincial seats in the 2004 elections, becoming the first woman since freedom to do so.

De Lille has been the recipient of numerous awards including being voted Woman of the Year by Rapport/City Press and one of the Top 5 Women in Government and Government Agencies, and has been recognised as a leading HIV/Aids activist by an international organisation. She is a former chancellor of the Durban Institute of Technology, an honorary colonel in the SANDF and serves on the boards of the African Monitor, the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.

She has been described by Nelson Mandela as "a strong, principled woman" and his "favourite opposition politician".

The deputy president of the Independent Democrats has been involved in politics for most of her life. She grew up in the volatile 1960s and 70s and attended Orlando High School in Soweto. After matriculating in 1971, she trained as a nurse but remained actively involved in numerous community projects.

Tsamai was active in the ANC during the apartheid years and says that she devoted much of her time to politics as it was the only genuine way one could contribute to society when she grew up. In 2004, she joined the ID and soon became a councillor and put her years of experience in community service to good use. 
The mother of two says she’s determined to see the ID grow, especially in Rustenburg, her constituency. Tsamai loves travelling and spending quality time with her two children.

The IDs' Secretary-General and MP, Haniff Hoosen, hails from Durban and studied for a B Proc degree in Law.
In 1994 he was the youngest candidate to Parliament and later served as a Councillor on the Durban Metro Council from 1996 to 2001.
 
In September 2005 Hoosen joined the Independent Democrats and was soon after appointed as the IDs' Election Campaign Manager in March 2006.
After becoming a member of the IDs' National Executive Committee, Hoosen was elected as the IDs' Secretary General in 2007 where after he was elected to National Parliament in 2008.

Hoosen currently serves on the Education and Safety & Security portfolio committees.
He is also the former Chairperson of the Independent Democrats Councillors Forum.

Joe Mcgluwa is the ID Parliamentary Leader and a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly  and serves on the following Portfolio Committees in Parliament:
Portfolio Commitee of Sport and Recreation
Portfolio Commitee of Home Affairs

Mcgluwa has previously been the National Organiser of the Independent Democrats, and has overseen the rapid growth of the party by setting up constituency offices country-wide, He was born in Johannesburg and grew up in Klerksdorp in the 1960s and 1970s.

His role as national organiser included the assessment and verification of party structures, undertaking regular performance audits of all constituency offices throughout the country and arranging programmes of visits to all provinces by the party President.

In addition, he supervises all constituency offices and organisers of the party.

Mcgluwa has been with the Independent Democrats since its inception.