Tshwete, Stephen Vukile

▪ 2003

      South African activist and politician (b. Nov. 12, 1938, Springs, S.Af.—d. April 26, 2002, Pretoria, S.Af.), was political commissioner of Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), the military wing of the antiapartheid African National Congress, and a member of the ANC national executive committee; he later held cabinet posts under Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. Tshwete spent 15 years (1964–79) in prison and 5 years (1985–90) in exile before being named (1994) minister of sports and recreation in Mandela's first postapartheid administration. Tshwete's success in developing sports opportunities for young blacks brought him considerable attention, and in 1999 Mbeki appointed him minister of safety and security, with responsibility for reforming the national police force.

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