{{short description|South African politician (born 1959)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Honourable | name = Thandi Modise | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = File:Spotkanie premier Beaty Szydło z Thandi Modise (cropped).jpg | image_size = 220px | alt = | caption = | office = | status = | predecessor = | successor = | office1 = Minister of Defence and Military Veterans | president1 = Cyril Ramaphosa | deputy1 = Thabang Makwetla | term_start1 = 5 August 2021 | term_end1 = 19 June 2024 | predecessor1 = Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula | successor1 = Angie Motshekga | office2 = 6th Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa | deputy2 = Solomon Lechesa Tsenoli | term_start2 = 22 May 2019 | term_end2 = 5 August 2021 | president2 = Cyril Ramaphosa | predecessor2 = Baleka Mbete | successor2 = Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula | office3 = 5th Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces | term_start3 = 22 May 2014 | term_end3 = 22 May 2019 | deputy3 = Raseriti Tau | predecessor3 = Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu | successor3 = Amos Masondo | constituency3 = | majority3 = | order4 = 4th | office4 = Premier of North West | term_start4 = 19 November 2010 | term_end4 = 20 May 2014 | predecessor4 = Maureen Modiselle | successor4 = Supra Mahumapelo {{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Legislative offices<br />{{nobold|2010–present}} |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes | office6 = Member of the National Assembly of South Africa | term_start6 = 22 May 2019 | term_end6 = 28 May 2024 | office7 = Delegate to the National Council of Provinces | term_start7 = 22 May 2014 | term_end7 = 7 May 2019 | constituency7 = North West | office8 = Member of the North West Provincial Legislature | term_start8 = 19 November 2010 | term_end8 = 20 May 2014 {{Collapsed infobox section end}} }} {{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Party offices<br /> |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes | office5 = Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress | president5 = Jacob Zuma | 1blankname5 = Secretary-General | 1namedata5 = Gwede Mantashe | term_start5 = 16 December 2007 | term_end5 = December 2012 | predecessor5 = Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele | successor5 = Jessie Duarte | office10 = 2nd Deputy President of the African National Congress Women's League | president10 = Winnie Madikizela-Mandela | term_start10 = 1993 | term_end10 = 2003 | predecessor10 = Albertina Sisulu | successor10 = Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini {{Collapsed infobox section end}} }} | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1959|12|25}} | birth_place = Vryburg, Cape Province, Union of South Africa | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_place = | birth_name = Thandi Ruth Modise | party = African National Congress | data5 = <!--Military service--> | nickname = | allegiance = uMkhonto we Sizwe | branch = | service_years = 1976–1979 | rank = Commander | unit = | commands = | battles = | awards = | military_blank1 = | military_data1 = | military_blank2 = | military_data2 = | military_blank3 = | military_data3 = | military_blank4 = | military_data4 = | military_blank5 = | military_data5 = }}
'''Thandi Ruth Modise''' (born 25 December 1959) is a South African politician who served as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans from 2021 to 2024. 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.
== Early life and activism == Modise was born on 25 December 1959 in Huhudi, a township near Vryburg in what is now the North West province (then the northern part of the Cape province).<ref name="SAHIST">{{cite web |date=17 February 2011 |title=Thandi Modise |url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/thandi-modise |access-date=23 June 2014 |website=South African History Online |publisher=}}</ref> Her father, Frans Modise, was a railway worker (a stoker) and a member of the African National Congress (ANC), which was banned by the apartheid government the year after Modise's birth.<ref name="SAHIST" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Mkhwanazi |first=Thami |date=2019-05-27 |title=Thandi Modise, the knitting needles guerrilla |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2019-05-27-00-the-knitting-needles-guerrilla/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> She was the youngest of six children.<ref name="SAHIST" />
Modise was educated at Barolong High School until she dropped out in July 1976 during the Soweto uprising. The student protests were given particular fervor in Huhudi because of the imminent threat that the township would be incorporated into the so-called independent homeland of Bophuthatswana.<ref name=":0" /> Later in July, Modise, with some former classmates, fled to Botswana, crossing the border by foot, and joined the ANC in exile.<ref name=":0" />
=== Umkhonto we Sizwe: 1976–1979 === Modise received preliminary political education in Tanzania and then received military training at various Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) camps in Angola and later in Maputo, Mozambique, becoming one of the few women in MK's famous "June 16" detachment.<ref name=":0" /> After her training she worked in MK camps as a political commissar, a section commissar, and ultimately a commander.<ref name="SAHIST" /> She also sang soprano in a recreational MK choir.<ref name="SAHIST" /><ref name=":0" />
In January 1978, shortly after her 19th birthday, Modise used a false passport to cross the Swazi border into South Africa, where she worked underground as an MK operative.<ref name=":0" /> She had received topographical training and her primary task was reconnaissance of potential targets for sabotage and other guerrilla attacks.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=31 March 1989 |title=The life of story of Thandi Modise, guerrilla |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2019-06-05-00-from-the-archives/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Weekly Mail |language=en-ZA}}</ref> She was based variously in Johannesburg, in Diepkloof, Soweto, and in Eldorado Park, and she occasionally crossed back into Swaziland to report back to the MK regional command stationed there.<ref name=":3" /> Over the course of two days in March 1978, she planted homemade incendiary devices, concealed in matchboxes, inside two OK Bazaars and Edgars stores in Johannesburg.<ref name=":3" />
=== Detention: 1979–1988 === Modise was arrested on 31 October 1979 in Eldorado Park, where she was completing a new MK assignment which involved political mobilisation through a network of underground ANC cells in the area. According to the police, she was arrested on the basis of a tip-off which identified her as a terrorist.<ref name=":3" /> She was detained without trial during five months of interrogation at the notorious John Vorster Square. She later told a judge that, though she was pregnant during the first months of her detention, she had been intimidated and assaulted by police officers.<ref name=":3" />
She and her co-accused first appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court in May 1980.<ref name=":3" /> Modise faced various charges related to her MK activities between 1976 and 1978, including that she had trained with MK, plotted to commit arson, propagated the aims of the banned ANC, conducted reconnaissance with the intention to commit sabotage, possessed illegal weapons and explosives, and recruited for the ANC.<ref name=":3" /> She was convicted of three charges under the Terrorism Act and on 7 November 1980 was sentenced to a total of 16 years' imprisonment – two eight-year sentences run concurrently.<ref name=":3" />
Modise served her full eight-year sentence (less one day) in Pretoria Central Prison, Kroonstad Women's Prison, and Klerksdorp Women's Prison.<ref name=":3" /> While in prison, she completed her matriculation certificate and, through the University of South Africa,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Minister's Profile: The Department of Military Veterans |url=http://www.dmv.gov.za/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=The Department of Military Veterans}}</ref> a Bachelor's degree in industrial psychology and economics.<ref name="SAHIST" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-01-24 |title=The life and times of Thandi Modise: North West premier's official CV just doesn't check out |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2014-01-24-the-life-and-times-of-thandi-modise-north-west-premiers-official-cv-just-doesnt-check-out/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref> She was released in November 1988.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
== Early parliamentary career: 1994–2004 == In South Africa's first post-apartheid election in April 1994, Modise was elected to represent the ANC in the National Assembly, the lower house of the new South African Parliament.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Ms Thandi Ruth Modise |url=https://www.parliament.gov.za/person-details/231 |access-date=20 December 2022 |website=Parliament of the Republic of South Africa}}</ref> She held her seat until 2004 and from 1998 onwards, she served as chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Joint Standing Committee on Defence.<ref name="SAHIST" /><ref name=":6" /> She was also a member of the Robben Island Museum Council from 1994 to 2010.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Thandi Modise, Ms |url=https://www.gov.za/about-government/contact-directory/thandi-modise-honourable |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=South African Government}}</ref>
For much of her early parliamentary career, Modise served as an ordinary member of the ANC's National Executive Committee. She was first elected to the committee at the party's 49th National Conference in December 1994; by popularity she was ranked 50th of 60 candidates elected.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 1994 |title=49th National Conference: National Executive Committee Voting Results |url=https://www.anc1912.org.za/49th-national-conference-national-executive-committee-voting-results/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109172547/https://www.anc1912.org.za/49th-national-conference-national-executive-committee-voting-results/ |archive-date=2021-11-09 |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=African National Congress |language=en-US}}</ref> At the next national conference in 1997 she was not re-elected to the committee but was co-opted onto it shortly after the elections.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=16 December 2002 |title=51st National Conference: Report of the Secretary General |url=https://www.anc1912.org.za/51st-national-conference-report-of-the-secretary-general/ |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=African National Congress |language=en-US}}</ref> Finally, she was returned by election at the 51st National Conference in 2002, ranked 31st of 60.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2002 |title=51st National Conference: National Executive Committee as elected |url=https://www.anc1912.org.za/51st-national-conference-national-executive-committee-as-elected/ |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=African National Congress |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== North West "Talibans": 2002 === As a parliamentarian, Modise emerged as a key figure in the North West branch of the ANC, particularly as a member of a group which sought to challenge the leadership of longstanding ANC Provincial Chairperson and Premier Popo Molefe. While Molefe's opponents argued that Molefe had failed to act against corruption or resolve divisions in the provincial party,<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |date=2002-06-05 |title=Molefe on the skids |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2002-06-06-molefe-on-the-skids/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> academic Andrew Manson suggested that Modise's supporters were motivated by nativism, believing that the political leadership of the North West "ought to be in the hands of people indigenous to the province, i.e. herself and her supporters".<ref name=":10" /> During this period, Modise and others, backed by Supra Mahumapelo and other provincial leaders of the ANC Youth League, introduced an unsuccessful motion of no confidence in Molefe's leadership of the party.<ref name=":10" /> The Mahumapelo-led pro-Modise faction was nicknamed "the Talibans",<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-26 |title=ANC leadership fails North West |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2012-07-26-anc-leadership-fails-north-west/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> a moniker that was borrowed two decades later by Siboniso Duma's faction in the KwaZulu-Natal ANC.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-23 |title=It's 'Ankole' versus 'Taliban' as Zikalala goes for a second term as ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson |url=https://mg.co.za/politics/2022-07-23-its-ankole-versus-taliban-as-zikalala-goes-for-a-second-term-as-anc-kwazulu-natal-chairperson/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
Ahead of the 2002 North West ANC provincial elective conference, Modise mounted an unsuccessful challenge to Molefe's bid for re-election.<ref name=":10" /> Her campaign to become ANC Provincial Chairperson in the North West initially appeared highly successful: she was nominated for the position by four of five regional branches in the province, with only Bojanala region expressing support for Molefe, and she received strong support from the provincial Youth League, from the provincial Women's League, and from senior members of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16">{{Cite web |date=2002-06-20 |title=UDF strikes back in North West |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2002-06-21-udf-strikes-back-in-north-west/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> She was also viewed as the favoured candidate of the incumbent national leadership of the party under ANC President Thabo Mbeki.<ref name=":16" />
However, when the elective conference was held in June 2002 in Rustenberg, Modise lost, winning only 229 votes against Molefe's 355.<ref name=":16" /> In the aftermath, the ''Mail & Guardian'' reported that she was upset about the way the election had been conducted.<ref name=":16" /> Political commentator William Gumede described the conference as "ugly" and adduced, from the "derogatory slogans" shouted at Modise during the conference, that she had lost because she was "seen as Mbeki's candidate".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gumede |first=William |date=2002 |title=Murmurs of dissent audible in ANC ranks |url=https://hsf.org.za/publications/focus/issue-27-third-quarter-2002/murmurs-of-dissent-audible-in-anc-ranks |journal=Focus |volume=27}}</ref>
=== ANC Women's League presidential campaign: 2003 === Modise served as a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC Women's League from 1991 until December 1993,<ref name="SAHIST" /> when she was elected as deputy president of the league.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/Celebrating%20Women%20in%20SA%20history.pdf |title='For Freedom and Equality': Celebrating Women in South African History |publisher=South African History Online |year=2011 |page=26}}</ref> She held that position for two terms until 2003. Towards the end of her second term, in April 2003,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-04-26 |title=Women's league accepts Winnie's sentence |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2003-04-26-womens-league-accepts-winnies-sentence/ |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> Winnie Madikizela-Mandela resigned as ANC Women's League president and Modise stepped in as acting president.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=wa Sepotokele |first=Themba |date=1 September 2003 |title=League wants equal power for women |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/league-wants-equal-power-for-women-112334 |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=IOL |language=en}}</ref>
Modise subsequently launched a campaign to succeed Madikizela-Mandela permanently.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=2003-08-29 |title=Fight is on for Women's League top spot |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2003-08-29-fight-is-on-for-womens-league-top-spot/ |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> In a heated contest, she was defeated in August 2003 by league secretary-general Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who beat her by 528 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-08-30 |title=New Women's League leader announced |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2003-08-30-new-womens-league-leader-announced/ |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=2003-09-05 |title=United they stand? |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2003-09-05-united-they-stand/ |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
== North West Provincial Legislature: 2004–2014 ==
=== Speaker of the North West: 2004–2010 === Pursuant to the 2004 general election, Modise left the national Parliament to become a member of the North West Provincial Legislature. She was Speaker of the provincial legislature from 2004 to 2009.<ref name=":6" />
=== ANC Deputy Secretary-General: 2007–2010 === At the ANC's 52nd National Conference in December 2007, Modise was elected to a five-year term as Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC. She was nominated from the floor of the conference after Baleka Mbete, the frontrunner until then, withdrew her name to stand instead for the position of National Chairperson.<ref name=":92">{{Cite web |date=2007-12-18 |title=ANC delegates start voting |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/anc-delegates-start-voting-20071218 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210082032/https://www.news24.com/news24/anc-delegates-start-voting-20071218 |archive-date=10 December 2021 |access-date=2021-12-09 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":53">{{Citation |last=Booysen |first=Susan |title=Aluta continua, from Polokwane to Mangaung |date=2011 |work=The African National Congress and the Regeneration of Political Power |pages=33–84 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.18772/12011115423.5 |access-date=2021-12-09 |publisher=Wits University Press |isbn=978-1-86814-542-3 |jstor=10.18772/12011115423.5}}</ref> Modise's candidacy was part of an informal slate aligned to Jacob Zuma, who won the ANC presidency at the same conference.<ref name=":53" /> She comfortably defeated Thoko Didiza for the position, winning 2,304 votes to Didiza's 1,455.<ref name="officials">{{cite web |title=Results for the election of ANC officials |url=http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/2007/pr1219.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629130037/http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/2007/pr1219.html |archivedate=2008-06-29 |accessdate=2008-09-21 |website=African National Congress |publisher=}}</ref>
She served only one term as Deputy Secretary-General. She was nominated for reelection at the end of her term but declined, choosing instead to challenge Mbete, who was running – with Zuma's endorsement – for reelection as National Chairperson.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-12-17 |title=It's confirmed: Zuma vs Motlanthe |url=https://ewn.co.za/2012/12/17/Zuma-Kgalema-to-vie-for-presidency |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121220052610/http://ewn.co.za/2012/12/17/Zuma-Kgalema-to-vie-for-presidency |archive-date=20 December 2012 |access-date=2021-12-10 |website=EWN |language=en }}</ref> When the election was held at the 53rd National Conference in December 2012, Modise lost, receiving only 939 votes against Mbete's 3,010.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2012-12-18 |title=Mangaung: The ANC's newly elected top six |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2012-12-18-mangaung-the-ancs-newly-elected-top-six/ |access-date=2021-12-08 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> She also failed to gain election to an ordinary seat on the National Executive Committee.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2012-12-20 |title=Results of the elections for the ANC NEC 2012 - PARTY |url=https://www.politicsweb.co.za/party/results-of-the-elections-for-the-anc-nec-2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622051630/http://www.politicsweb.co.za/party/results-of-the-elections-for-the-anc-nec-2012 |archive-date=22 June 2017 |access-date=2021-12-08 |website=Politicsweb |language=en }}</ref>
=== Premier of the North West: 2010–2014 === In the 2009 general election, Modise was re-elected to the North West Provincial Legislature, and the ''Mail & Guardian'' reported that the North West branch of the ANC supported a proposal to elect her as Premier of the North West.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-11-19 |title=No easy ride ahead |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2010-11-19-no-easy-ride-ahead/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> Maureen Modiselle was selected instead – but only until 19 November 2010, when Modise succeeded her as Premier.<ref name="SAHIST" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 November 2010 |title=ANC fires North West premier |url=https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2010-11-18-anc-fires-north-west-premier/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Sowetan |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
Modise was Premier during the Marikana massacre in the North West in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 August 2012 |title=Premier: Marikana massacre avoidable |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/premier-marikana-massacre-avoidable-20120817 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref> During her tenure, she had an increasingly difficult relationship (which she described in 2011 as "a bit of a headache")<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Manson |first=Andrew |date=2015 |title=Factions, contestations and mining's missing millions: the African National Congress in North West province since 1994 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/99/article/583312 |journal=Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=55–71 |doi=10.1353/trn.2015.0012 |issn=1726-1368|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with Supra Mahumapelo, then the ANC Provincial Chairperson in the North West and the Speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-30 |title=North West premier 'targeted' |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-30-north-west-premier-targeted/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> She remained in office as Premier until the next general election in 2014,<ref name=":7" /> when she was succeeded by Mahumapelo.
== Return to national politics: 2014–2024 ==
=== NCOP Chairperson: 2014–2019 === Pursuant to the 2014 election, Modise was elected unopposed as Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house of the national Parliament.<ref name="NCOP">{{cite web |date=22 May 2014 |title=Thandi Modise elected National Council of Provinces chair |url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2014/05/22/thandi-modise-elected-national-council-of-provinces-chair |access-date=23 June 2014 |website=Sunday Times |publisher=}}</ref> She held the position throughout the second term of President Jacob Zuma. She later said, during a 2021 hearing of the Zondo Commission, that it was "a pity" that she and other parliamentary leaders did not "wake up" to allegations of state capture during Zuma's presidency and therefore did not use Parliament's investigatory powers to their fullest.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 April 2021 |title=Thandi Modise apologises to SA for parliament's inaction |url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2021-04-19-thandi-modise-apologises-to-sa-for-parliaments-inaction/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Business Day |language=en-ZA}}</ref>[[File:Spotkanie premier Beaty Szydło z Thandi Modise (2).jpg|thumb|Modise with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło in Warsaw, September 2016]]In 2017, NCOP administrators reportedly advised Modise that she had claimed an excessively large parliamentary travel allowance, calculated using an incorrect formula. She was asked to repay the R125,953 which she had received in excess since 2014. The ''Sunday Times'' reported that she was "resisting" this request and disputed the claim that she had been overpaid.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 August 2017 |title=Modise in travel scandal; parliament demands payback |url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/news/2017-08-12-modise-in-travel-scandal-parliament-demands-payback/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Sunday Times |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-13 |title=Thandi Modise must repay the money – report |url=https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/thandi-modise-must-repay-the-money-report/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Citizen |language=en}}</ref> During this period, Modise regained her seat on the National Executive Committee, winning another five-year term at the 54th National Conference in December 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-21 |title=Here is the ANC's new NEC |url=https://www.news24.com/citypress/special-report/anc_conference/here-is-the-ancs-new-nec-20171221 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207232519/https://www.news24.com/citypress/special-report/anc_conference/here-is-the-ancs-new-nec-20171221 |archive-date=2021-12-07 |access-date=2021-12-07 |website=Citypress |language=en-US}}</ref> When Mahumapelo resigned as Premier in 2018, it was rumoured that Modise would return to the North West to replace him.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-06 |title=Thandi Modise to replace Mahumapelo as North West premier? |url=https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/thandi-modise-to-replace-mahumapelo-as-north-west-premier/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Citizen |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2018 |title=I await PEC to ask me to resign, says Supra Mahumapelo |url=https://www.enca.com/south-africa/supra-mahumapelo-quits-as-north-west-premier |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=eNCA |language=en}}</ref> Addressing the rumours, Modise said lightheartedly, "If the ANC asks you to do something, you go, but I wish they don’t send me back there";<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 May 2018 |title=Please do not make me Premier |url=https://www.snl24.com/dailysun/news/national/please-do-not-make-me-premier-20180527 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Daily Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> she ultimately served the full parliamentary term as NCOP Chairperson.
=== NA Speaker: 2019–2021 === Following her term as NCOP Chairperson, Modise was elected to the counterpart position in the National Assembly, becoming the Speaker of the National Assembly after the 2019 general election.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Presence |first=Chantall |date=22 May 2019 |title=Thandi Modise elected National Assembly Speaker |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/thandi-modise-elected-national-assembly-speaker-23759676 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=IOL |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, the ''Daily Maverick'' complimented Modise's performance, which it said had helped restore dignity to the assembly's proceedings after years of "destabilising" controversy during Zuma's administration.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Merten |first=Marianne |date=2021-08-05 |title=Speaker Modise's surprise move is good for Department of Defence, but a blow for Parliament |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-08-06-speaker-modises-surprise-move-is-good-for-department-of-defence-but-a-blow-for-parliament/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref> This assessment received wide assent among parliamentary leaders of the country's opposition parties: the United Democratic Movement's Bantu Holomisa described Modise as "a no-nonsense-taker", while Narend Singh of Inkatha Freedom Party said she had "run a tight ship" and the Democratic Alliance's Natasha Mazzone described her as the legislature's "UN peacekeeping force" and as truly non-partisan.<ref name=":11" /> The ''Business Day'' agreed that she "exercised a firm grip" over the assembly's sittings.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |date=5 August 2021 |title=Thandi Modise to head armed forces |url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2021-08-05-thandi-modise-to-head-armed-forces/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Business Day |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
=== Defence Minister: 2021–2024 === On 5 August 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Modise to his cabinet as Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. Her appointment was part of a cabinet reshuffle which saw her swap positions with former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and which was partly intended to reinvigorate the so-called security cluster of ministries following an episode of serious civil unrest.<ref name=":13" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=du Plessis |first=Carien |date=2021-08-05 |title=Intelligence failure: President Ramaphosa breaks up security cluster |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-08-06-intelligence-failure-president-ramaphosa-breaks-up-security-cluster/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref> She served in the office until the 2024 general election, when she lost her seat in the National Assembly as a result of the ANC's decline in electoral support.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dentlinger |first=Lindsay |date=5 June 2024 |title=Naledi Pandor, Bheki Cele, Thandi Modise and Thulas Nxesi among ministers not returning to Parliament |url=https://www.ewn.co.za/2024/06/05/naledi-pandor-bheki-cele-thandi-modise-and-thulas-nxesi-among-ministers-not-returning-to-parliament |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=EWN |language=en}}</ref>
==== Hostage crisis ==== On the evening of 14 October 2021, Modise was at a hotel in Pretoria when she was held hostage by a group of military veterans calling themselves the Liberation Struggle War Veterans. She was detained with 25 others, including her deputy, Thabang Makwetla, and the Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele. The veterans demanded a meeting with President Ramaphosa and reparations for their role in the anti-apartheid struggle. After almost three hours, members of the Special Task Force entered the hotel, freeing the hostages and making dozens of arrests.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nicholson |first=Greg |date=15 October 2021 |title=ANC military veterans arrested after allegedly holding ministers hostage |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-10-15-anc-military-veterans-arrested-after-allegedly-holding-ministers-hostage/ |access-date=15 October 2021 |website=Daily Maverick |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hunter |first1=Qaanitah |last2=Wicks |first2=Jeff |date=14 October 2021 |title=Special Task Force rescues ministers held hostage by disgruntled military veterans in Pretoria |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/special-task-force-rescues-ministers-held-hostage-by-disgruntled-military-veterans-20211014 |access-date=15 October 2021 |website=News24 |publisher=}}</ref> The National Prosecuting Authority charged 53 people with kidnapping and suggested that it might add terrorism-related charges,<ref>{{cite web |last=Simelane |first=Bheki C. |date=20 October 2021 |title=Military veterans accused of kidnapping government officials out on bail |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-10-20-military-veterans-accused-of-kidnapping-government-officials-out-on-bail/ |access-date=20 October 2021 |website=Daily Maverick |publisher=}}</ref> but in May 2022 the case was withdrawn.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchley |first=Alex |date=17 May 2022 |title=Case against military vets who allegedly held ministers hostage withdrawn |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/breaking-case-against-military-vets-who-allegedly-held-ministers-hostage-withdrawn-20220517 |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==== ANC National Executive Committee ==== On 16 March 2022, the National Working Committee of the ANC appointed Modise to lead a task team to assess the status of the ANC Women's League, which at the time was in disarray.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-16 |title=Thandi Modise to head ANCWL task team |url=https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/politics/3051222/thandi-modise-to-head-ancwl-task-team/ |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=The Citizen |language=en}}</ref> Controversially, Modise recommended that the mainstream party should disband the incumbent leadership of the league, at that time headed by Bathabile Dlamini.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-12 |title=Thandi Modise punts dissolution of ANC women's league but NWC refuses |url=https://mg.co.za/top-six/2022-04-12-thandi-modise-recommends-dissolution-of-ancwl-but-nwc-refuses/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2022-11-16 |title=ANC Women's League disbandment was unlawful, says Lindiwe Sisulu |url=https://mg.co.za/politics/2022-11-16-anc-womens-league-disbandment-was-unlawful-says-lindiwe-sisulu/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
Ahead of the ANC's 55th National Conference in December 2022, there were rumours that Modise was a possible candidate to become ANC Deputy President.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bosch |first=Emile |date=19 August 2021 |title=Outgoing National Assembly speaker Thandi Modise and her rise to the top |url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2021-08-19-watch-outgoing-national-assembly-speaker-thandi-modise-and-her-rise-to-the-top/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Sunday Times |language=en-ZA}}</ref> The ANC Women's League supported this proposal,<ref name=":14" /> but she did not appear on the ballot paper. Instead, the 55th National Conference re-elected her as an ordinary member of the ANC National Executive Committee; she was ranked 32nd of the 80 members elected.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 December 2022 |title=ANC NEC members |url=https://www.enca.com/news/full-list-anc-nec-members |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=eNCA |language=}}</ref>
== Animal cruelty charges == In July 2014, the NSPCA discovered a number of dead animals, including chickens, pigs, goats and geese, on a farm owned by Modise in Modderfontein outside Potchefstroom. The animals had starved to death and some of the surviving pigs were eating the carcasses of other animals.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |date=2018-07-19 |title=AfriForum to privately prosecute Thandi Modise over animal cruelty |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2018-07-19-afriforum-to-privately-prosecute-thandi-modise-over-animal-cruelty/ |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite web |date=7 July 2014 |title=Thandi Modise will cooperate as her farm of horrors is investigated |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/thandi-modise-will-cooperate-as-her-farm-of-horrors-is-investigated-20150429 |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref> Modise said that the animals had been abandoned by a caretaker she had hired to monitor the farm while she was attending to her NCOP responsibilities in Cape Town, and she said she was "saddened" by the incident.<ref name=":18" /> She also said, "I am not a farmer. I am trying to farm. I am learning. But if you are a woman and you are learning you are not allowed to make mistakes".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-08 |title=Thandi Modise: Another survivor on SA's 'Animal Farm' |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2014-07-08-thandi-modise-another-survivor-on-sas-animal-farm/ |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> The Freedom Front Plus said that Modise was a poor example for emerging black farmers.<ref name=":17" />
On behalf of the NSPCA, AfriForum instituted private prosecution against Modise on animal cruelty charges. However, in April 2021, a Potchefstroom court found Modise not guilty, ruling that Modise had not been negligent and that the hired caretaker should be held responsible for the incident.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchley |first=Alex |date=30 April 2021 |title=Animal cruelty case against Thandi Modise dismissed |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/SouthAfrica/News/just-in-animal-cruelty-case-against-thandi-modise-dismissed-20210430 |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Personal life == Modise has four children.<ref name="SAHIST" /> She gave birth to a daughter named Boingotlo in January 1975 when she was still in high school.<ref name=":0" /> A second daughter, Mandisa, was born on 15 February 1980 at Johannesburg Hospital while Modise was being detained by the apartheid police.<ref name=":3" /> While Modise was occupied with her MK work, Boingotlo and Mandisa were raised by her mother.<ref name=":3" />
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{People's Assembly (South Africa)|thandi-modise/|Thandi Ruth Modise}} * [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4066108 "Thandi Modise, a woman in war"] at ''Agenda'' {{SouthAfricaAssemblySpeakers}} {{SouthAfricaSenateNCOPPresidents}} {{NWPremiers}} {{Template:South Africa defence ministers}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Modise, Thandi}} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:People from Vryburg Category:South African Tswana people Category:African National Congress politicians Category:Chairpersons of the National Council of Provinces Category:Speakers of the House of Assembly (South Africa) Category:Premiers of North West (South African province) Category:Women premiers of South African provinces Category:Women members of the National Council of Provinces Category:Women legislative speakers Category:21st-century South African women politicians Category:Female defence ministers Category:Defence ministers of South Africa Category:Women government ministers of South Africa Category:Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa Category:South African anti-apartheid activists Category:UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel Category:Prisoners and detainees of South Africa Category:Members of the North West Provincial Legislature Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2019–2024 Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999 Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1999–2004 Category:South African women civil rights activists