by the apartheid government in 1990, Motshekga was appointed to the interim leadership corps of the ANC in the PWV region around Pretoria, then headed by Tokyo Sexwale. Provincial political career ANC Provincial Chairperson: 1997–2000 At the time of South Africa's first post-apartheid election in 1994, Motshekga was Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC branch in the country's new Gauteng province. He held that position until September 1997, when ANC Provincial Chairperson Tokyo Sexwale resigned and Motshekga was elected to succeed him. His election followed a heated succession battle with multiple rounds of voting: Motshekga defeated Amos Masondo and then, in the final round of voting, beat Frank Chikane with 343 votes to Chikane's 179. Premier of Gauteng: 1998–1999 Motshekga likewise succeeded Sexwale as Premier of Gauteng in January 1998 when Sexwale vacated that post. During his tenure, he was subject to an internal investigation by the ANC. President Thabo Mbeki asked him to resign as Premier in April 1999, shortly after Mbeki took office in a general election. Motshekga's ousting from the government office led to division inside the provincial ANC, and the Motshekga-led ANC Provincial Executive Committee was disbanded by the national party leadership in 2000, prematurely ending Motshekga's term as ANC Provincial Chairperson. In subsequent years, Motshekga expanded his business interests. As of 2006, he was a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. At one time he represented the ANC on the Judicial Service Commission. National political career At the ANC's 52nd National Conference in December 2007, Motshekga was elected to a five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC), the party's top executive organ; by number of votes received, he ranked 53rd of the 80 candidates elected. ANC Chief Whip: 2009–2013 In the 2009 general election, Motshekga was elected as a Member of the National Assembly (NA), the lower house of the South African Parliament; at the same time, he was appointed Chief Whip of the ANC, the majority party, in the NA. He served in that position until June 2013, becoming the party's longest-serving Chief Whip. However, Motshekga was removed as Chief Whip before the end of his term because, at the ANC's next national conference in December 2012, he narrowly failed to gain re-election to the ANC NEC. The NEC said this situation was incongruent with a party resolution adopted in 2008 which required the Chief Whip to sit on the NEC. The