South African cabinet minister Collins Chabane and two security personnel were killed in a car crash on Sunday, President Jacob Zuma said, according to Reuters.
Chabane, 54, was minister of Public Service and Administration and a member of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee.
'We are deeply shocked and saddened by this untimely death of an outstanding cadre of our liberation struggle and a competent, accomplished and dependable member of my cabinet,' Zuma said in a statement.
The three were killed when their car collided with a truck in Polokwane, 350 km (220 miles) north of Johannesburg, the president's office said.
The ANC said Chabane's death had left a 'huge void' in the party and the government.