South African Department of Defence

The Department of Defence is one of the ministries of the South African government. It oversees the South African National Defence Force, the armed forces responsible for defending South Africa. The current Minister of Defence is Mosiuoa Lekota.

[edit] List of Ministers of Defence since 1910

(1910 - 1920) Jan Smuts (1st time) (1911: SAP) (b. 1870 - d. 1950)
(1920 - 1924) Hendrik Mentz (SAP) (b. 1877 - d. 1938)
(1924 - Mar 1933) Frederic Creswell (Lab) (b. 1866 - d. 1948)
(Mar 1933 - Sep 1939) Oswald Pirow (NP; 5 Dec 1934: UP) (b. 1890 - d. 1959)
(Sep 1939 - Jun 1948) Jan Smuts (2nd time) (UP) (s.a.)
(Jun 1948 - 1959) F.C. Erasmus (NP) (b. 1896 - d. 1967)
(1959 - 1966) Johannes Jacobus Fouché (NP) (b. 1898 - d. 1980)
(1966 - 1980) Pieter Willem Botha (NP) (b. 1916 - d. 2006)
(1980 - 1991) Magnus Malan (-/NP) (b. 1930)
(1991 - May 1992) Roelf Meyer (NP) (b. 1947)
(May 1992 - 1 Apr 1993) Gene Louw (NP) (b. 1931)
(1 Apr 1993 - 11 May 1994) Kobie Coetsee (NP) (b. 1931 - d. 2000)
(11 May 1994 - 17 Jun 1999) Joe Modise (ANC) (b. 1929 - d. 2001)
(17 Jun 1999 - present) Patrick Lekota (ANC) (b. 1948)

v • d • e Senior Officials in the South African Department of Defence

Minister of Defence (Mosiuoa Lekota) Deputy Minster of Defence (Mluleki George) Secretaries: Defence Secretariat (January Masilela) • Policy and Planning Division (Tsepe Motumi) Military Chiefs: Chief of the SANDF (Godfrey Ngwenya) •