Thandi Modise

The Honourable Thandi Modise
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 August 2021
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy	Thabang Makwetla
Preceded by	Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
6th Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa
In office 22 May 2019 – 5 August 2021
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy	Solomon Lechesa Tsenoli
Preceded by	Baleka Mbete
Succeeded by	Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
5th Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
In office 22 May 2014 – 22 May 2019
Deputy	Raseriti Tau
Preceded by	Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu
Succeeded by	Amos Masondo
4th Premier of North West
In office 19 November 2010 – 20 May 2014
Preceded by	Maureen Modiselle
Succeeded by	Supra Mahumapelo
Legislative offices 2010–present Member of the National Assembly of South Africa In office 22 May 2019 – 28 May 2024 Delegate to the National Council of Provinces In office 22 May 2014 – 7 May 2019 Constituency North West Member of the North West Provincial Legislature In office 19 November 2010 – 20 May 2014
Party offices Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress In office 16 December 2007 – December 2012 President Jacob Zuma Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe Preceded by Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele Succeeded by Jessie Duarte 2nd Deputy President of the African National Congress Women's League In office 1993–2003 President Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Preceded by Albertina Sisulu Succeeded by Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini
Personal details
Born	Thandi Ruth Modise (1959-12-25) 25 December 1959 (age 64) Vryburg, Cape Province, Union of South Africa
Political party	African National Congress
Military service
Allegiance	uMkhonto we Sizwe
Years of service	1976–1979
Rank	Commander

Thandi Ruth Modise (born 25 December 1959) is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. She was previously the Premier of the North West from 2010 to 2014, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces from 2014 to 2019, and Speaker of the National Assembly from 2019 to 2021.

Modise has been a member of the African National Congress (ANC) since the 1976 Soweto uprising, when she dropped out of high school to join uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the ANC's armed wing, in exile. In 1978 she returned to South Africa as a trained guerrilla operative for MK and from 1980 to 1988 she was imprisoned under the Terrorism Act for her anti-apartheid activism.

She was elected to the South African Parliament in South Africa's first democratic election in 1994. After ten years in the National Assembly, she served as the Speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature from 2004 to 2009 before becoming Premier in 2010. She next returned to the executive branch of government in August 2021, when President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her to replace Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as Defence Minister.

Modise has also held various senior positions in the ANC, including as Deputy President of the ANC Women's League from 1993 to 2003 under Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and as Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC from 2007 to 2012 under Jacob Zuma. She was first elected to the ANC National Executive Committee in December 1994, and she was re-elected to another five-year term on the committee in December 2022.