Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula (born 13 November 1956) is a South African politician who was appointed Minister of Defence and Military Veterans by President Jacob Zuma in June 2012. She was Minister of Home Affairs from 2004 to 2009 and Minister of Correctional Services from 2009 to 2012.Mapisa-Nqakula obtained a teacher's diploma from the Bensonvale Teachers College.In 1984, she left South Africa to undergo military training in Angola and the Soviet Union.