Lindiwe Sisulu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_(cropped).jpg) Sisulu in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of Tourism | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 August 2021 – 6 March 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Patricia de Lille | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 30 May 2019 – 5 August 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Cyril Ramaphosa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Portfolio established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Portfolio abolished | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of the National Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 27 April 1994 – 15 March 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu 10 May 1954 Johannesburg, Transvaal Union of South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | African National Congress | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) |
Xolile Guma (divorced)Rok Ajulu (died 2016) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent(s) | Walter and Albertina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Waterford Kamhlaba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Swaziland (BA) University of York (MA, MPhil) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance | Umkhonto We Sizwe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu (born 10 May 1954) is a South African politician. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa between April 1994 and March 2023. During that time, from 2001 to 2023, she served continuously in the cabinet as a minister under four consecutive presidents. President Cyril Ramaphosa sacked her from his cabinet in March 2023, precipitating her resignation from the National Assembly.
The daughter of anti-apartheid leaders Albertina and Walter Sisulu, Sisulu was born in Johannesburg and attended boarding school in neighbouring Swaziland. After suffering prolonged detention without trial in 1976–1977, she left South Africa, aged 23, and joined Umkhonto we Sizwe in exile. She lived primarily in Swaziland and England until 1990, when she returned to South Africa during the negotiations to end apartheid. Elected to the National Assembly in South Africa's first post-apartheid elections, she became the inaugural chairperson of Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, and she went on to serve in Nelson Mandela's Government of National Unity as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs from 1996 to 2001.
Under President Thabo Mbeki, Sisulu served as Minister of Intelligence from 2001 to 2004 and as Minister of Housing from 2004 to 2009. Under President Jacob Zuma, she was Minister of Defence and Military Veterans from 2009 to 2012, Minister of Public Service and Administration from 2012 to 2014, and (returned to her former portfolio) Minister of Human Settlements from 2014 to 2018. President Ramaphosa appointed her as Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in February 2018, but her tenure in that position was brief: after the 2019 general election, she was moved to the newly created position of Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation. Finally, in a cabinet reshuffle in August 2021, she was demoted to Minister of Tourism, her last position in government.
Known for her "relentless" political ambition,[1] she campaigned for election to the ANC presidency ahead of the party's 54th National Conference in 2017 and its 55th National Conference in 2022. Her 2022 campaign was notable for its populist rejection of constitutionalism. Neither campaign received enough support to advance a presidential nomination. She did appear on the 2017 ballot as Ramaphosa's running mate, but David Mabuza won the deputy presidential slot. Sisulu has been a member of the ANC National Executive Committee since December 1997; she was re-elected to a sixth five-year term in December 2022. She also served four terms as a member of the ANC National Working Committee between 2003 and 2022.