Pam Tshwete

Pamela Tshwete (born 3 October 1951) is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape. She is currently serving as Deputy Minister of Human Settlements since August 2021. She has been a member of the National Assembly since 2002 and a deputy minister since 2013.

During her first decade in the National Assembly, Tshwete served the African National Congress (ANC) as a whip, first as a committee whip and then as disciplinary whip from 2009 to 2013. President Jacob Zuma appointed her as a deputy minister in July 2013; she was Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform from 2013 to 2014 and Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation from 2014 to 2019. After the 2019 general election, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Tshwete as Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, a newly created ministry; she was responsible for human settlements and retained that portfolio when the ministry was split again in August 2021.

The widow of activist Steve Tshwete, she joined the ANC in exile during apartheid and was later active in the ANC Women's League. She has been a member of the ANC National Executive Committee since December 2012.