Mr Ashor Sarupen was appointed as the second Deputy Minister of Finance on 3 July 2024. He also serves as the first Deputy Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance (DA) Federal Council. A graduate of Wits University, he holds a BSc, BSc Honours, MBA, and an MPhil in Corporate Strategy from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. His academic research explored business models for the Internet of Things and the impact of anti-globalisation on the South African economy.

Mr Sarupen began his political career at 17 in his hometown of Springs, Gauteng, and was elected to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Council in 2011, where he became Chief Whip of the Official Opposition at the age of 22. He went on to serve in the Gauteng Legislature from 2014 to 2019 and has played key roles in several of the DA’s most successful campaigns, including the 2016 local elections in Ekurhuleni. In 2019, Helen Zille appointed him Chief of Staff and later Parliamentary Counsel, before his election as Deputy Chairperson of the DA Federal Council in 2020 and Deputy National Campaign Manager in 2021.

Since 2019, he has been a Member of Parliament and the DA’s Shadow Minister on the Appropriations Committee, focusing on oversight of the national budget. His career reflects a blend of academic achievement, strategic leadership, and practical political experience in finance and governance.