Hudosn William Edison Ntsanwisi was the first of the three children born to William and Evelyn Ntsanwisi on the 11th of July 1920 at Shiluvane Swiss Mission Station, 10km south of the Tzaneen in Limpopo Province of South Africa.
HW Ntsanwisi as he was popularly known had a meritorious school career. He attended the Shiluvane Primary School where he passed the Higher Primary Standard VI Examination in 1935, being placed first in the then Transvaal Province, he taught at Emmarentia Geldenhuys High School in Warmbaths, now known as Bela-Bela and then enrolled at the University of South Africa, where he obtained a Master’s Degree in African studies in 1965. He then went to attend Georgetown University in the United States, where he studied Linguistics.
After Graduating from the University of Fort Hare, he founded Shiluvane Secondary School in 1949. In 1960, he was seconded to the University of the North, where he was attached to the Department of African Languages. He later served as Dean of Students.
HW Ntsanwisi was the first African layman to hold the position of Moderator of the Tsonga Presbyterian Church, now known as the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa, an office he held for a period of 12 years. During this period, he attended International Church Conferences in Africa and overseas as a delegate of the Church.
After returning to South Africa, he worked as a teacher, and later as a School Inspector in 1956 in the Northern Transvaal Province. He became the first Chief Minister of Vatsonga Machangana Territorial Authority (which was later renamed Gazankulu) in 1969. He served as Chief Minister until his death in 1993.
In 1979, the Legislative Assembly in recognition of his dedicated, distinguished and devoted service, conferred on him the Chieftainship of Majeje which he finally accepted in 1985. In 1980, the Degree of Doctor of Administration (Honoris Causa) was conferred on him by the University of the North in recognition of his contribution to education and Nation building.
In 1984, HW Ntsanwisi formed Ximoko Xa Rixaka as a cultural organization. The organization was then transformed into a Political Party, the Ximoko Progressive Party in 1990 with Professor HW Ntsanwisi as its first President.
Professor HW Ntsanwisi was an offspring of the Maluleke Royal House. He was a great grandson of Majeje, the son of the great Chieftain Maxakadzi of the Makuleke Clan.
