The

Executive Council Executive Council may refer to: Government * Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor * Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern * Ex ...

of the Free State is the cabinet of the executive branch of the provincial government in the South African province of the Free State. The Members of the Executive Council (MECs) are appointed from among the members of the

Free State Provincial Legislature The Free State Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Free State. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the executive council from among the members of the leading party ...

by the Premier of the Free State, an office held since March 2018 by Sisi Ntombela of the African National Congress (ANC).

Direko premiership: 1999–2004

Winkie Direko Isabella Winkie Direko (27 November 192917 February 2012) was a South African politician born in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa. She was a member of the African National Congress and served as Premier of the Free S ...

was elected as the Free State's third Premier in the 1999 general election. She reshuffled her Executive Council on 28 June 2001, firing three MECs:

Tate Makgoe Pule Herbert Isak Makgoe (12 May 1963 – 5 March 2023) was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist. A member of the African National Congress, he was elected to the Free State Provincial Legislature in 1994. After holding multipl ...

, Anna Buthelezi-Phori, and

Casca Mokitlane Modise Casalis "Casca" Mokitlane (born 17 September 1951) is a former politician and diplomat from South Africa who served in the Free State Provincial Legislature from 1999 until 2014. He is a former Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the Afr ...

Marshoff premiership: 2004–2009

Beatrice Marshoff was elected Premier in the 2004 general elections; her new Executive Council was sworn in on 3 May 2004. In April 2005, over the course of two weeks, Marshoff announced two wide-ranging reshuffles in which three MECs – Ace Magashule, Itumeleng Benny Kotsoane, and

Benny Malakoane Benjamin "Benny" Malakoane is a South African politician and medical doctor who served in the Free State Executive Council from 2004 to 2005 and from 2013 to 2019. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he dropped out of the Executi ...

– were sacked and others changed portfolios. In August 2007, in another reshuffle, Magashule was returned to the cabinet and another MEC,

Playfair Morule Playfair may refer to: * Playfair (surname) * Playfair (lunar crater) * Playfair (Martian crater) * PlayFair, software that removes Apple's FairPlay DRM file encryption, now succeeded by Hymn See also *Playfair Project * TS ''Playfair'', a Canadi ...

, was removed; several other MECs also changed portfolios. In January 2008,

Mxolisi Dukwana Mxolisi Dukwana is a South African politician who has been the 7th Premier of the Free State since his election in February 2023. Prior to his election, he served in the Free State Executive Council as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) fo ...

was appointed as MEC for Public Safety and Security and

Mamiki Qabathe Motlagomang Grazy Qabathe, commonly known as Mamiki Qabathe, is a South African politician who is currently serving in the Executive Council of the Free State as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Social Development. Before that, she w ...

was appointed MEC for Agriculture. In October that year, both changed portfolios, along with two other MECs, in a reshuffle affecting four portfolios but involving no sackings. In February 2009, Dukwana additionally took on, in an acting capacity, the education portfolio, after Education MEC

resigned and defected from the ANC ahead of the 2009 general election.

Magashule premiership

First term: 2009–2014

On 11 May 2009, following his election as Premier in the 2009 general election, Ace Magashule announced his new Executive Council, which included six new appointments; in addition, the names of four departments were changed. In February 2011, Magashule announced a reshuffle in which four MECs changed portfolios and in which responsibility for rural development was moved from the public works portfolio to the agriculture portfolio. In June of that year, he appointed

Butana Komphela The Butana (Arabic: البطانة, ''Buṭāna''), historically called the Island of Meroë, is the region between the Atbara and the Nile in the Sudan. South of Khartoum it is bordered by the Blue Nile and in the east by Lake Tana in Ethi ...

to replace

Thabo Manyoni Thabo Manyoni is a South African politician who was the Mayor of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality from 2011 to 2016. He represented his party, the African National Congress (ANC), in the Free State Executive Council from 2009 to 2011 and i ...

as MEC for Police, Roads and Transport; Manyoni had left the provincial government to become Mayor of Mangaung. Magashule effected two further reshuffles before the end of the provincial legislature's term. In February 2012, he fired Economic Development MEC

and replaced him with

;

Olly Mlamleli Sarah Matawana "Olly" Mlamleli (born 1957) is a South African politician who served as the Mayor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality from August 2016 until August 2020. A member of the African National Congress, she served as the Member of ...

was appointed to the Executive Council to take over Qabathe's former portfolio. In March 2013, Magashule fired Finance MEC Seiso Mohai, replacing him with

Elzabe Rockman Elizabeth Cornelia "Elzabe" Rockman (born 20 April 1967) is a South African African National Congress politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council for Finance during the premierships of Ace Magashule and Sisi Ntombela. She was f ...

, and appointed

to fill the vacancy in the health portfolio that had arisen after Fezi Ngumbentombi's death in December 2012; Qabathe also swopped portfolios with Msebenzi Zwane.

Second term: 2014–2018

Pursuant to his re-election in the 2014 general election, Magashule announced his new Executive Council on 29 May 2014. He made only limited changes, replacing Dan Kgothule with

Mathabo Leeto Nokwanje Selina "Mathabo" Leeto is a South African politician who has been the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health in the Executive Council of the Free State and a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature since 2023. Leeto had ...

as MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation and replacing Sisi Mabe, who became Speaker of the provincial legislature, with Sam Mashinini as MEC for Public Works. He also added small business development to Msebenzi Zwane's economic development portfolio. In May 2015, Magashule announced the first reshuffle of his second term, occasioned by the departure of

, who succeeded Mabe as Speaker. In September 2015, Zwane, who had replaced Qabathe in the agriculture portfolio in the May reshuffle, was sworn into the National Assembly to become national Minister of Mineral Resources; he was replaced in the Executive Council by Oupa Khoabane. In October the following year, Magashule announced a wide-ranging reshuffle, occasioned by the departure of Mlamleli, who had been elected Mayor of Mangaung in the local government elections in August; Limakatso Mahasa was the only new appointment made, although the reshuffle affected five portfolios.

Ntombela premiership

First term: 2018–2019

Sisi Ntombela was sworn in as Premier in March 2018; she succeeded Ace Magashule, who had resigned to take up the position of ANC Secretary-General. Although she initially retained all of Magashule's MECs, she announced a reshuffle on 9 May 2018. Five portfolios were affected, but no MECs were fired; indeed, because Ntombela's promotion had left a vacancy in the Executive Council, one new MEC,

Montseng Tsiu Montseng Margaret Tsiu is a South African politician, trade unionist and nurse who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health in the Free State provincial government from May 2018 until March 2023. She was sworn in as a Membe ...

, was appointed. In the same reshuffle, responsibility for human settlements was transferred from the cooperative governance and traditional affairs portfolio to Dorah Coetzee's public works and infrastructure portfolio.

Second term: 2019–present

Ntombela was elected to a full term as Premier in the 2019 general election and she announced her new Executive Council in late May. On 1 October 2021, she announced a reshuffle affecting three portfolios, in which Sam Mashinini was fired. {, class="wikitable" , +Free State Executive Council 2014–present !Post !Member ! colspan="2" , Term !Party , - , Premier of the Free State , Sisi Ntombela , 2019 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - , MEC for Finance , Gadija Brown , 2019 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - , MEC for Health ,

, 2019 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - , MEC for Education ,

, 2019 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - , rowspan="2" , MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development , Thembeni Nxangisa , 2021 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - style="opacity:.3;" ,

William Bulwane Kwekwe William Bulwane is a South African politician serving as the Free State MEC for Police, Roads and Transport since October 2021. He had previously served as the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development. He has been a Member of the Free St ...

, 2019 , 2021 , ANC , - , MEC for Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs , Makalo Mohale , 2019 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - , rowspan="2" , MEC for Police, Roads and Transport ,

, 2021 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - style="opacity:.3;" , Sam Mashinini , 2019 , 2021 , ANC , - , MEC for Public Works and Human Settlements , Motshidisi Koloi , 2019 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - , rowspan="2" , MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs ,

, 2021 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - style="opacity:.3;" , Thembeni Nxangisa , 2019 , 2021 , ANC , - , MEC for Social Development ,

, 2019 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC , - , MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation , Limakatso Mahasa , 2019 , ''Incumbent'' , ANC

References

Government of the Free State (province)