The Executive Council of the Western Cape is the cabinet of the executive branch of the provincial government in the South African

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

. The Members of the Executive Council (MECs) are appointed from among the members of the

Western Cape Provincial Legislature The Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located at 7 Wale Street in Cape Town. The Provincial Parliament, along with the other Provincial legislature (South Africa), pro ...

by the

Premier of the Western Cape The Premier of the Western Cape is the head of government of the Western Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Western Cape is Alan Winde, a member of the Democratic Alliance, who was elected in the 2019 election. He took o ...

, an office held since the 2019 general election by

Alan Winde Alan Richard Winde (born 18 March 1965) is a South African politician and businessman. He is the 8th and current Premier of the Western Cape, having held the position since 2019. He has been a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament sin ...

. The council is referred to as the Executive Council in the

national Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

, but is denoted the Provincial Cabinet of the Western Cape in the Western Cape Constitution.

Rasool premiership: 2004–2008

Following his election as Premier in the 2004 general election,

Ebrahim Rasool Ebrahim Rasool (born 15 July 1962) is a South African politician and diplomat who served as the South African Ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015, as a Member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2010, and as the 5th Premier of the ...

announced his new Provincial Cabinet on 30 April 2004. On 26 July 2005, he announced a reshuffle affecting three portfolios, in which two new Provincial Ministers were appointed – one incumbent, Chris Stali, was fired, and another,

Mcebisi Skwatsha Mcebisi Skwatsha (born 31 July 1964) is a politician and currently the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform in South Africa, along with Candith Mashego-Dlamini. He is a former ANC secretary in the Western Cape. See also *Africa ...

, had resigned to take up the full-time position of Provincial Secretary of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC).

Brown premiership: 2008–2009

Lynne Brown Lynne Brown (born 26 September 1961) is a South African politician who is a former Minister of Public Enterprises and former Premier of the Western Cape Province. She was born in Cape Town and grew up in Mitchells Plain. She was appointed Premie ...

was sworn in as Premier in July 2008 after the incumbent,

, resigned at the request of the ANC, his political party. Later the same week, she announced a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle in which four new provincial ministers were appointed and most others changed portfolios, leaving only one minister, Cobus Dowry, in his initial position. Brown fired two ministers who had been viewed as aligned to Rasool –

Leonard Ramatlakane Leonard Ramatlakane (born 16 February 1953) is the former Minister of Community Safety in the Western Cape province of South Africa whilst an ANC member. He also served as the acting Premier briefly after Marthinus Van Schalkwyk resigned in 2004 ...

and

Richard Dyantyi Qubudile Richard Dyantyi (born 25 October 1968) has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly since 2019. Before that, he was a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and served as the Western Cape's Memb ...

– and one of Rasool's other ministers,

Tasneem Essop Tasneem Essop, is currently (2009) the Executive Director of Climate Action Network, the largest global network of over 1,300 civil society organisations, in over 120 countries, fighting the climate crisis. Essop served as a former Provincial Min ...

, had resigned in the aftermath of Rasool's own departure.

Zille premiership

First term: 2009–2014

In May 2009, following her election in the 2009 general election, Premier

Helen Zille Otta Helene Maree (''née'' Zille ; born 9 March 1951), known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. From 2009 until 2019, she w ...

announced her new Provincial Cabinet. In early September 2010, she announced her first reshuffle: only three portfolios were affected, but two ministers –

Lennit Max Lennit Hendry Max (born 1961/62) is a South African politician, advocate and police officer who served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (2014–2018; 2004–2010), as Shadow Deputy Minister of Correctional Services (2010– ...

and Sakkie Jenner – were fired from the cabinet. In the 2011 local government elections, Social Development Minister

Patricia de Lille Patricia de Lille (née Lindt; born 17 February 1951) is a South African politician who is the current Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure and leader of the political party Good. She was previously Mayor of Cape Town from 2011 to 2018, ...

was elected

Mayor of Cape Town The Mayor of Cape Town is the head of the local government of Cape Town, South Africa; currently that government takes the form of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. In the past, the position of Mayor has varied between that of an ...

; in a minor reshuffle on 29 May, Zille announced that de Lille would be replaced by

Albert Fritz Albert Theo Fritz (born 1 July 1959) is a South African politician and advocate. He was the Western Cape Department of Community Safety, Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety for two nonconconsecutive terms from 2010 to 2011 and ...

, who in turn would be replaced in the Community Safety portfolio by

Dan Plato Daniel Plato (born 5 October 1960), known as Dan Plato, is a South African politician and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since January 2022, previously serving from June 2011 until October 2018. He is the former mayor of Cap ...

Second term: 2014–2019

After her re-election in the 2014 general election, Zille announced her new Provincial Cabinet, to be sworn in on 26 May 2014; she appointed two new MECs,

Nomafrench Mbombo Nomafrench Mbombo (born 6 September 1966) is a South African academic and politician who has been the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health since 2015 and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since 2014. She previously served a ...

and

Debbie Schäfer Deborah Anne "Debbie" Schäfer (born 18 December 1966) is a South African politician and lawyer who served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Education and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament for the Democratic Alliance ( ...

, who had not served in the cabinet during her first term. On 31 December 2014, Zille announced that Mbombo, who until then served as Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, would swap portfolios with Health Minister

Theuns Botha Theunis Louis "Theuns" Botha is a retired South African politician of the Democratic Alliance. Previously, he served as the Western Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health. He also served as ...

, effective from 1 January 2015. Botha resigned from the Executive Council in April 2015 and was replaced by

Anroux Marais Anroux Johanna Marais (née Du Toit; born 8 December 1956) is a South African politician of the Democratic Alliance (DA). She has been serving as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport since 2015. She has been a Memb ...

. Finally, on 19 October 2018, Zille announced that

would become Provincial Minister of Community Safety, replacing

, who in turn would succeed former Minister Patricia de Lille as Mayor of Cape Town;

Beverley Schäfer Beverley Ann Schäfer is a South African politician serving as the Deputy Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since May 2019. She served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities from November 2018 to May 20 ...

was appointed to the cabinet to replace Winde in the renamed Economic Opportunities portfolio.

Winde premiership: 2019–present

First term: 2019–2024

On 23 May 2019, following his election in the 2019 general election, Premier

announced his new cabinet. On 24 May 2021, he appointed Daylin Mitchell as Provincial Minister for Transport and Public Works after the former incumbent,

Bonginkosi Madikizela Bonginkosi Success Madikizela (born 15 March 1975) is a South African politician. Born in Port Shepstone, in the province of Natal, Madikizela soon moved to Khayelitsha and became politically active in the area. He was a member of the African Na ...

, resigned amid a qualifications fraud scandal. In early 2022, two vacancies arose in the cabinet after

was fired from the Community Safety portfolio and

resigned from the Education portfolio. On 22 April that year, Winde announced a reshuffle that would fill the vacancies and create two newly reconfigured portfolios, Mobility and Infrastructure. In February 2023, Winde appointed Ricardo Mackenzie as the Minister of Mobility after Daylin Mitchell was elected speaker of the

Western Cape Provincial Parliament The Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located at 7 Wale Street in Cape Town. The Provincial Parliament, along with the other provincial legislatures of South Africa, e ...

Second term

On 13 June 2024, Winde was re-elected for his second term as premier following the 2024 provincial election. He appointed his new provincial cabinet shortly afterwards.

References

{{Western Cape Province Government of the Western Cape