Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi (born 7 August 1958, in

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, now

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

) is the Minister of Home Affairs in the

Cabinet of South Africa The Cabinet of South Africa is the most senior level of the executive branch of the Government of South Africa. It is made up of the President, the Deputy President, and the Ministers. Overview The President appoints the Deputy President and m ...

. He was previously the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 2009 to 2019. He was a MEC in

province for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

, and education.

Biography

Motsoaledi was born in Phokwane village in

Province to Kgokolo Michael Motsoaledi and Sina Sekeku Maile. He was one of nine children (seven boys and two girls) in the family. As a child at the age of 8, he gained political awareness after witnessing the arrest of a neighbour for not carrying a "dompas" (reference book) and was later heavily influenced by the 1976 Soweto uprising. He received secondary education at Setotolwane High School. While attending the

University of the North The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions form ...

at Turfloop, he was frequently involved in student marches, demonstrations and sit-ins at the campus and Mankweng police station. Motsoaledi is a medical doctor by training. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Natal while attending there in the late 1970s. He was elected to the student representative council in 1980, and participated in the formation of a student movement, the

Azanian Students’ Organisation The Azanian Students Organisation (AZASO) was a student movement in South Africa founded in 1979 as a replacement for the banned South African Student Organisation (SASO). It would become the South African National Students Congress (SANSCO) in 19 ...

(AZASO), which he was elected the national correspondence secretary. Motsoaledi ran a successful surgery in the small rural town of

Jane Furse Jane Furse is a town in the Sekhukhune District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa, surrounded by the villages of Ga-Moretsele, Madibong, Marulaneng, Mamone, Mokwete and Riverside. Significant landmarks in Jane Furse include Ja ...

prior to his appointment in government. He also help mobilising students in Natal for the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and have connections with the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in

Sekhukhuneland Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland ( af, Sekoekoeniland) is a natural region in north-east South Africa, located in the historical Transvaal zone, former Transvaal Province, also known as Bopedi (meaning “land of Bapedi”). The region is named aft ...

. Prior to his appointment as Minister of Health of the Republic of South Africa, Motsoaledi had served as a Chairperson of the Sekhukhune Advice Office from 1986 to 1994; as a Chairperson of Hlahlolanang Health and Nutrition Education Project in 1989; as a Deputy Chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) in the then Northern Transvaal from 1991 to 1992; as Head of the ANC Elections Commission for Limpopo Province in 1994; as Head of the ANC Economic and Infrastructure Desk and as Head of the ANC Research and Briefing of election Task Team in Limpopo in 1994. Motsoaledi has also served as a member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature from 1994 to 2009; as a member of the Limpopo Provincial Executive Council (MEC) for Education from 1994 to 1997; MEC for Transport from 1998 to 1999 and MEC for Agriculture, Land and Environment in 1999. The Minister administered to the first South African state patient a fixed dose combination (FDC) antiretroviral tablet of Efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir on 9 April 2013 in

GaRankuwa Ga-Rankuwa is a large settlement located about 37 km north-west of Pretoria. Provincially it is in Gauteng province, but it used to fall in Bophuthatswana during the apartheid years, and under the North West province until the early 2000s. ...

. In November 2016, 32 ANC MPs stayed away from the motion of no confidence, including Motsoaledi, who had recently spoken out against Zuma and did not vote either. In May 2019, Motsoaledi was named Minister of Home Affairs by President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

Controversy

In November, 2019 several months after being appointed Minister for Home Affairs he was named alongside

Ace Magashule Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule (born 3 November 1959) is a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who was Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) until his suspension on 3 May 2021. He served as the Premier ...

in a 5 million bribery and murder investigation in a high court in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...

, Free State. During the case, Motsoaledi claimed he neither had knowledge or spoke to the suspects.

Other activities

UNAIDS The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) (, ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an ...

–'' Lancet'' Commission on Defeating AIDS, Member (2013-2015)List of Commissioners

– Lancet Commission on Defeating AIDS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motsoaledi, Aaron 1958 births Living people People from Limpopo Northern Sotho people African National Congress politicians Health ministers of South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Provincial political office-holders in South Africa Members of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature