Dan Plato

In August 2018, he declared his candidacy to succeed Patricia de Lille as Mayor of Cape Town. The Democratic Alliance named him the party's preferred candidate in September 2018. Plato resigned both as Provincial Minister of Community Safety and Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in late-October 2018. He was sworn in as a councillor on 1 November 2018. He was elected Mayor on 6 November 2018.

In October 2018, Zille announced that Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, would succeed Plato. Plato effectively resigned from the provincial government on 31 October 2018. Winde subsequently took office the next day.

In August 2018, Plato declared his candidacy to replace Patricia de Lille as Mayor of Cape Town after De Lille had announced her intention to resign on 31 October 2018.

On 18 September 2018, the Democratic Alliance announced that Plato would succeed De Lille. Plato defeated many prominent candidates for the nomination, including the Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Sharna Fernandez, and Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, Ian Neilson.

On 1 November 2018, Plato took office as a councillor. The day before the ceremony, Patricia de Lille resigned as Mayor of Cape Town. A former acquaintance of Patricia de Lille, Brett Herron, resigned as a councillor after the ceremony along with many other councillors, in protest against the removal of Patricia de Lille and the mayoralty of Dan Plato.

Plato was elected Mayor of Cape Town on 6 November 2018 during a special council sitting. He received 146 out of 202 valid votes. His main challengers were Xolani Sotashe of the African National Congress and Grant Haskin of the African Christian Democratic Party. Sotashe received 53 votes while Haskin got 3 votes. Six ballots were spoilt.

In 2011, the Democratic Alliance nominated Patricia de Lille to be the party's Cape Town mayoral candidate ahead of the 2011 local government elections. Plato left office on 1 June 2011. He subsequently took office as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Premier Helen Zille reshuffled her Provincial Cabinet and appointed Plato to the position of Provincial Minister of Community Safety, succeeding Albert Fritz.

In 2011, Plato declared his intention to seek a full term as Mayor of Cape Town ahead of the upcoming 2011 municipal elections. His challengers for the post were Mayoral Committee Member for Social Development, Grant Pascoe, Mayoral Committee Member for Housing, Shehaam Sims, and Leader of the Independent Democrats, Patricia de Lille. De Lille defeated Plato in an internal party election. He left office on 1 June 2011.

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille reshuffled her Provincial Cabinet in May 2011 and appointed Plato to the post of Provincial Minister for Community Safety, succeeding Albert Fritz. She said in a statement: "I am confident he will make a major contribution, not only to the community safety portfolio but to the provincial cabinet as a whole." He took office on 1 June 2011.

Cape Town hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He banned the old South African flag from being present at soccer matches at the Cape Town Stadium after he described the flag as being detrimental to the country's image.

In 2010, Plato announced his candidacy for the post of Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance. He lost to incumbent Theuns Botha. He received 123 votes compared to Botha's 543 and Lennit Max's 317.

On 30 April 2009, Helen Zille resigned as Mayor of Cape Town. Plato declared his candidacy for the post and was ultimately selected as the party's preferred candidate.

Plato was elected Mayor of Cape Town on 12 May 2009. He won with 119 votes to the ANC candidate Belinda Landingwe's 69 votes, while six councillors abstained from the vote.

He managed the Housing portfolio in the Mayoral Committee from 2006 to 2009. During the same period, he was Deputy Chairperson of both the DA Metro Region and the DA Caucus in the City of Cape Town. He had also served as acting Mayor at various intervals. Shortly before being elected Mayor in May 2009, Plato had taken over as the Mayoral Committee Member responsible for Service Delivery and Economic Development.

Born in Cape Town, Plato was involved in political activities during his high school career. He was a community organiser and played a crucial role in mobilising residents against the Apartheid government. He was elected a ward councillor in 1996. He was elected Mayor of Cape Town in May 2009. He succeeded Helen Zille, who was elected Premier of the Western Cape.

In 1996, Plato was elected as a Cape Metro councillor for the Belhar, Uitsig and Ravensmead region. He became a member of the council executive the following year. He served two terms as Chairperson of the City of Cape Town's Economic Development, Tourism and Property Management Portfolio Committee.

He has been involved in political activities since high school, particularly in Cape Town's northern suburbs. He was a community organiser and played a significant role in rallying people against the apartheid regime. The Emergency Services Unit of the former Bellville Municipality (Tygerberg Administration) employed him in the 1980s. Plato became a member of the National Party in 1990. He later became the Cape Town Chairperson of the South African National Tuberculosis Association during the mid-1990s.

Daniel "Dan" Plato (born 5 October 1960) is a South African politician and current Mayor of Cape Town since 6 November 2018. He previously held the position from May 2009 until June 2011. He served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety from 2011 to 2018.