Aaron Motsoaledi

Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi (born 7 August 1958) is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs in the cabinet of South Africa. He was previously the Minister of Health from 2009 to 2019. A member of the National Assembly since 2009, he is also a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC).

Motsoaledi was born in Limpopo and trained as a medical doctor at the University of Natal, where he was active in the anti-apartheid student movement. In subsequent decades, he practiced as a doctor in Sekhukhuneland while remaining involved in political activism. After the end of apartheid, he represented the ANC in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature for three terms from 1994 to 2009. During that time, he served near-continuously in the Executive Council of Limpopo, holding several different portfolios under Premiers Ngoako Ramatlhodi and Sello Moloto. A long-time member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee, he was elected to the National Executive Committee for the first time in December 2007.

After joining the National Assembly in the 2009 general election, Motsoaledi was appointed as Minister of Health in the cabinet of President Jacob Zuma. He held the position throughout Zuma's presidency, during which time he developed the policy and legislative framework for a new system of National Health Insurance. He also presided over a transformation in South Africa's policy on HIV/AIDS and a concomitant four-fold expansion in the size of the country's antiretroviral programme.

Zuma's successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, appointed Motsoaledi to his current portfolio as Minister of Home Affairs after the 2019 general election. He was elected to his fourth consecutive term on the ANC National Executive Committee in December 2022.