Gwede Mantashe

The Honourable Gwede Mantashe MP
Mantashe in November 2022
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 May 2019
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy	Bavelile Hlongwa Nobuhle Nkabane
Preceded by	Himself (for Mineral Resources) Jeff Radebe (for Energy)
Minister of Mineral Resources
In office 27 February 2018 – 7 May 2019
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Deputy	Godfrey Oliphant
Preceded by	Mosebenzi Zwane
Succeeded by	Himself (for Mineral Resources and Energy)
National Chairperson of the African National Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 December 2017
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Preceded by	Baleka Mbete
Other offices 1998–present Member of the National Assembly Incumbent Assumed office 22 May 2019 15th Secretary-General of the African National Congress In office 18 December 2007 – 18 December 2017 President Jacob Zuma Deputy Jessie Duarte Thandi Modise Preceded by Kgalema Motlanthe Succeeded by Ace Magashule 8th National Chairperson of the South African Communist Party In office July 2007 – July 2012 Deputy Ncumisa Kondlo Joyce Moloi-Moropa General Secretary Blade Nzimande Preceded by Charles Nqakula Succeeded by Senzeni Zokwana 3rd Secretary-General of the National Union of Mineworkers In office 1998 – May 2006 President James Motlatsi Senzeni Zokwana Preceded by Kgalema Motlanthe Succeeded by Frans Baleni
Personal details
Born	Samson Gwede Mantashe (1955-06-21) 21 June 1955 (age 68) Cala, Cape Province Union of South Africa
Political party	African National Congress
Other political affiliations	South African Communist Party
Spouse	Nolwandle Mantashe
Relations	Tozama Mantashe (sister)
Alma mater	University of South Africa Witwatersrand University Management College of Southern Africa

Samson Gwede Mantashe (born 21 June 1955) is a South African politician and former trade unionist who is currently serving as the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. He was Minister of Mineral Resources from February 2018 to May 2019, when his current portfolio was created. He is also serving his second term as the national chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC).

Born in the Eastern Cape, Mantashe rose to political prominence through the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which he joined at his workplace at Matla Colliery. He rose through the union's ranks, becoming a full-time organiser in 1988 and then deputising Kgalema Motlanthe as the NUM's assistant general secretary from 1994 to 1998. He succeeded Motlanthe as general secretary from 1998 to 2006. During this period, he was also an influential member of the Central Committee and Politburo of the South African Communist Party (SACP).

After he ceded his union office to Frans Baleni in May 2006, Mantashe worked briefly at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. At the ANC's 52nd National Conference in Polokwane in December 2007, he was elected as secretary-general of the ANC, a full-time position which he held for a decade, gaining re-election in December 2012. He served concurrently as national chairperson of the SACP from 2007 to 2012. During his tenure as ANC secretary-general, he had a controversial role in defending President Jacob Zuma against internal dissent and allegations of state capture.

After two terms as secretary-general, Mantashe was elected as ANC national chairperson at the party's 54th National Conference in December 2017. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed him to the cabinet shortly thereafter, with his portfolio enlarged after the 2019 general election. His public-facing work as Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy has been dominated by the ongoing energy crisis in South Africa and by proposals for a so-called just energy transition. In that context, Mantashe has been criticised for his overt interest in coal, natural gas, and powerships, arguably at the expense of investment in renewable energy sources. He was elected to a second term as ANC national chairperson in December 2022, by then an important political ally of President Ramaphosa, and he remains a member of the SACP Central Committee.