The youngest of three children, Tito Mboweni was born on March 16, 1959. He grew up in Tzaneen in the Northern Province.

He attended the University of the North between 1979 and 1980, where he registered for a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He did not complete his studies there and left SouthAfrica to go into exile in 1980.

While in exile in Lesotho, he joined the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's governing party, and was an activist of the party in many capacities.

He obtained a Bachelor of Arts (honours equivalent) degree in economics and political science from the National University of Lesotho in 1985. In 1987, he obtained a Master of Arts degree in development economics from the University of EastAnglia in England.

Mr. Mboweni was Minister of Labour from May 1994 to July 1998 in President Nelson Mandela's cabinet. Prior to his appointment as Minister of Labour, Mr. Mboweni was Deputy Head of the Department of Economic Policy in the ANC. Within this department, he was also specifically responsible for co-ordinating Trade and Industrial Policy. He also represented the ANC on several domestic and international platforms.

Mr Mboweni was a member of the ANC's National Executive and National Working Committees and was also Chairperson of the National Executive Committee's Economic Transformation Committee, which developed and co-ordinated ANC economic policies.

Mr Mboweni became one of the World Economic Forum's "Global Leaders of Tomorrow" in 1995.

In 1997, Mr Mboweni was appointed head of the ANC's Policy Department which was responsible for managing ANC processes. Upon joining the South African Reserve Bank, he resigned all of his elected and appointed positions in the ANC.

He joined the South African Reserve Bank in July 1998 as Advisor to the Governor. In August 1999 he was appointed Governor of the SouthAfrican Reserve Bank. He was also appointed honorary Professor of Economics at the University of SouthAfrica in 2000.

Mr Mboweni is a keen fly fisherman and lists soccer among his interests