The ANC was founded in 1912 in the Union of South Africa under British colonial rule. It did not have a youth league until 1944. The idea of an ANC Youth League is attributed to Anton Lembede.
He fashioned the idea together with Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, and others. In 1943, they presented it to ANC president- general Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma (a medical doctor and specialist in tropical diseases). The league was established in 1944 after some resistance from Xuma and some of his peers.
Xuma became president- general of the ANC in
