Refilwe Maria Tsipane (born 3 September 1973), known as Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane (alternatively spelt Mtshweni), is a South African politician and a party member of the

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

(ANC), who has been serving as the 5th

Premier of Mpumalanga The Premier of Mpumalanga is the head of government of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. The current Premier of Mpumalanga is Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, a member of the African National Congress, who was appointed in March 2018. She took off ...

since 20 March 2018. She succeeded former Premier

David Mabuza David Dabede "DD" Mabuza (born 25 August 1960) is a South African politician who has been deputy president of South Africa, Deputy President of South Africa since February 2018. He was the Deputy President of the African National Congress (ANC) f ...

after he was appointed

Deputy President of South Africa The deputy president of South Africa is the deputy to the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa and is a member of the National Assembly and the Cabinet. The deputy president is constitutionally required to "assis ...

. Mtsweni-Tsipane is also a Member of the

Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature The Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (MPL), previously known as the Eastern Transvaal Legislature, is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Mpumalanga. The First Legislature was inaugurated in May 1994 as the Eastern Tr ...

and previously served as the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

Family and personal life

Mtsweni-Tsipane is married to Lawrence Tsipane and has two children. She spent most of her childhood in Lynnville, Emalahleni, where she went to primary school. She completed her secondary education in

Atteridgeville Atteridgeville is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The settlement was established in 1939, a ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

. She obtained a Human Resources Diploma from the

Tshwane University of Technology Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; af, Tshwane-Universiteit vir Tegnologie) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West an ...

and a Certificate of Leadership and Governance from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

. In late-September 2020, Mtsweni-Tsipane announced that she had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

Political career

Mtsweni-Tsipane was elected to the

in 2014 and was sworn in as a Member on 21 May 2014. Premier

announced his new Executive Council in late-May and Mtsweni-Tsipane was selected to be the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. The Democratic Alliance Provincial Leader, Anthony Benadie, said in a statement that Mtsweni-Tsipane "lacks the skill or strength of character to manage a complex portfolio". In July 2017, when Mtsweni-Tsipane served as acting premier, she declared a special provincial funeral for

Ray Phiri Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (23 March 1947 – 12 July 2017) was a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga to Thabethe Phiri, a Malawian immigrant worker, and South African guitarist nicknamed "Just Now" Phiri. He wa ...

. On 27 February 2018, she was sworn in as acting premier by Judge President Malesela Legodi, replacing Mabuza, who was appointed Deputy President of South Africa. The Provincial Democratic Alliance Leader Jane Sithole said that the swearing-in of Mtsweni-Tsipane was "unconstitutional" because former Mabuza was not in the position to appoint an acting premier to a position that he no longer holds. She was sworn in for a second time as acting premier on 1 March 2018 in

. On 14 March 2018, the ANC NEC officially nominated Mtsweni-Tsipane to become the Premier of Mpumalanga. She served as Premier-elect until the legislature confirmed her to the position on 20 March. She was formally inaugurated on that same day by Legodi. She is the first woman to hold the role. Following the May 2019 elections, the

announced that it had retained Mtsweni-Tsipane as Premier of Mpumalanga. She took office for her first full term on 27 May 2019. In January 2021, Mtsweni-Tsipane attracted criticism after she arrived at

Jackson Mthembu Jackson Mphikwa Mthembu (5 June 1958 – 21 January 2021) was a South African politician who served as Minister in the Presidency of South Africa's government, and as a parliamentarian for the African National Congress (ANC). Previously, he ser ...

's funeral without wearing a mask, despite COVID-19 regulations stipulating that a mask must be worn in public. The premier's office stated that her mask was broken and that she was oblivious that it had fallen off. Mtsweni-Tsipane also apologised for the incident, however, the national minister of police,

Bheki Cele Bhekokwakhe "Bheki" Hamilton Cele (born 22 April 1952) has been the South African Minister of Police since February 2018. He was National Commissioner of the South African Police Service for two years, until misconduct allegations led to his su ...

, called for an investigation into her actions. She later signed admission of guilt and apologised for not wearing a mask. The incident also resulted in a R1,500 fine for Mtsweni-Tsipane, and Cele confirmed that she now has a criminal record. On 16 February 2021, she withdrew her candidacy for ANC provincial chairperson.

Notes

References

External links

People's Assembly profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mtsweni-Tspane, Refilwe Premiers of Mpumalanga Living people Tshwane University of Technology alumni University of the Witwatersrand alumni African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women politicians 1973 births Members of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature