Nick Clelland
Nicholas John Clelland (born 25 February 1972) is a South African author, communications professional and former politician.
Author
[edit]Clelland’s debut novel, Good Hope was published by Karavan Press in April 2024.[1] A dystopian, political thriller, the novel asks questions around the precariousness of statehood and the conflict between security and freedom. Geordin Hill-Lewis, Executive Mayor of Cape Town, on the cover of the book, describes the novel as a "Riveting read and a scary glimpse into what happens when liberty is traded for order."[2][3][4]
Clelland has also written a non-fiction book with Ryan Coetzee titled Spin – The art of managing the media (2018 Penguin Books).[5][6][7][8]
Political career
[edit]Clelland was elected to the Durban Metropolitan Council in 1996.[9] [10] He was then elected as a Democratic Party Member of Parliament[11] in 1999 at the age of 27, making him one of South Africa's youngest Members of Parliament.[12] Clelland served as Parliamentary Counsellor to the Leader of the Opposition[13] and as the Democratic Alliance's first National Spokesperson.[14] On an oversight trip to Zimbabwe, with Tony Leon after the February 2000 referendum on the draft constitution, then ZANU–PF Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa characterised their trip as interference in Zimbabwe's domestic affairs and treacherous.[11]
In 2007, in New Zealand, Clelland was appointed chief of staff to Auckland mayor John Banks.[15] Returning to South Africa in 2009, then Western Cape Minister of Transport, Robin Carlisle, appointed Clelland as his Chief of Staff where he conceptualised and launched the government's Safely Home road safety campaign that, ultimately, achieved a 25.9% reduction in fatalities in two and a half years.[16][17][12]
In 2010 Clelland took up the role of Director of Strategic Communication for the Western Cape Government.[12] In this position – together with Dan Ariely - he devised and designed a behavioural economics pilot on HIV testing which saw a 30% increase in monthly HIV testing figures.[18] [19]
Communications professional
[edit]Former DA Leader, Tony Leon and Clelland founded Resolve Communications (Pty) Ltd in 2013 where he served as its chief executive officer until October 2018 when he was succeeded by Gavin Davis.[20] Clelland is credited with re-defining the concept of “Day Zero” during the 2017/2018 water crisis in Cape Town which was used, with great effect, to change and to sustain reduction in water consumption.[21][22] Clelland is the Principal of Government Guild, a training and development consultancy.[23]
References
[edit]- ^ Karina (12 April 2024). "Karavan Press title: GOOD HOPE by Nick Clelland". Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ Bijl, Kris van der. "REVIEW | Nick Clelland's Good Hope explores the price of freedom in a dystopian Western Cape". Life. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ Haffajee, Ferial (21 August 2024). "What happens after 1,000 days of the Government of National Unity?". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ "Good Hope by Nick Clelland". Primedia Plus. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ Nick Clelland; Ryan Coetzee (31 July 2017). Spin: The Art of Managing the Media. Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. ISBN 978-1-77609-157-7.
- ^ 'Spin' Penguin Random House South Africa April 2018
- ^ 'Learn how to spin the system' Herald LIVE 14 May 2018
- ^ ’Nic Clelland’ Renegade Report 29 May 2018
- ^ 'Strategic Planning for Political Parties' Friedrich Naumann Foundation July 2017
- ^ 'Young MPs leave for greener pastures' Mail & Guardian 23 May 2003
- ^ a b 'Who is the real opposition?’ Politicsweb 27 July 2007
- ^ a b c 'Youngest ex-MP takes over communications' IOL 26 January 2010
- ^ 'Tony Leon 'interfering' in Zim' news24 5 March 2001
- ^ Fly SAA, Democratic Alliance tells Mbeki' IOL 22 February 2001
- ^ 'Who runs New Zealand – in Auckland' Metro 3 February 2009
- ^ 'Nation of anarchic pedestrians' IOL 17 July 2014
- ^ 'Cape road toll down below 100' Wheels24 7 March 2012
- ^ 'Know your status and win campaign' Southern African HIV Clinicians Society
- ^ 'Big prize for HIV test' Times LIVE 15 December 2011
- ^ 'Gavin Davis is the new CEO at Resolve Communications' The Media Online 18 October 2018
- ^ 'Nick Clelland' Cliff Central 5 June 2018
- ^ 'Innovations for Successful Societies' Princeton University February 2019
- ^ "Government Guild | Developing high-performance government teams". Government Guild. Retrieved 27 August 2024.