Thandi Modise
| Thandi Modise | |
|---|---|
| Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces | |
|
Assumed office 21 May 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | M. J. Mahlangu |
| 4th Premier of North West | |
|
In office 19 November 2010 – 20 May 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Maureen Modiselle |
| Succeeded by | Supra Mahumapelo |
| Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress | |
|
In office 16 December 2007 – December 2012 |
|
| Preceded by | Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele |
| Succeeded by | Jessie Duarte |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 December 1959 Vryburg, North West Province |
| Political party | African National Congress |
Thandi Modise (born 25 December 1959, Vryburg) is a South African politician, currently serving as chairperson of the National Council of Provinces.
She left South Africa in 1976 to join the African National Congress and received training in Angola. She returned to South Africa in 1978 as an Umkhonto weSizwe operative. She was arrested and imprisoned in 1979, becoming the first woman in South Africa to be jailed for MK activities.
She served as the Premier of North West from 19 November 2010 to 21 May 2014, when she was replaced by Supra Mahumapelo, also from the ANC, after the 2014 general election. 1 Thandi Modise
Synopsis: Deputy President of ANC Women's League, Member of the NEC of the ANC, Council Member of the Robben Island Museum, Premier of North West Province. First name: ThandiLast name: ModiseDate of birth: 25 December 1959Location of birth: Huhudi township,Vryburg, North West Province
Thandi Modise, the youngest of six children, was born on 25 December 1959 in Huhudi township near Vryburg in the North West. Her father, Frans Modise, a railworker, was an African National Congress (ANC) activist.
The students uprising in 1976 in her area coincided with the threat that the Vryburg area in the North West would be incorporated into Bophuthatswana. There was a great deal of resistance from the people of Huhudi, and a violent and aggressive reaction from police. When Modise was shot at by police one day as she was walking down the road, she became convinced that joining the struggle was paramount. She decided to leave the country and join Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in exile.
In 1976 she slipped over the border into Botswana to join the ANC and was later transferred to Angola where she received military training at Nova-Katenga and Funda camps. At times there were only 30 women out of a total of 500 trainees. On some occasions she was the only woman in the camp.
After training she worked in the camps as a political commissar. Modise also received political education, sitting in open classrooms, under trees, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In a camp of four companies, only Modise and one other woman had a senior rank, the rest of the women were rank and file soldiers. When they started training she was made a section commissar. Later, Modise became a commander. According to Modise, it was tough because some of the men did not really want to be commanded by young women.
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Wikipedia