Former defence minister Johannes (Joe) Modise died at his home in Centurion last night, a family spokesman said.

Shortly before succumbing to cancer, Modise, the country's first post-apartheid defence minister, received the Order of the Star of SA for meritorious service.

President Thabo Mbeki and most members of his cabinet travelled to Modise's home to bestow the award on their ailing comrade.

The citation read by Mbeki's director-general, Frank Chikane, said Modise served SA with courage, devotion and distinction, both as a liberation fighter and cabinet minister.

"That a stable, unified force has emerged from the transformation of the SA National Defence Force and the change of its command structure, is a monument to Modise's leadership."

Modise was born in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, in 1929. A political activist since the destruction of Sophiatown in 1953, he was one of 156 activists charged with treason. Charges were dropped in the late 1950s.

Modise served on the high command of Umkhonto we Sizwe and went into exile in Tanzania in 1963. He became MK commander in 1965 and established bases in Tanzania, Angola and Uganda, and oversaw training in the Eastern bloc, Cuba, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia and China.

After the African Nation Congress's unbanning, Modise was among the first group of ANC negotiators to hold talks with the apartheid government at Groote Schuur in March 1990.

He became defence minister under the democratic government of then president Nelson Mandela. Modise retired from active politics in June 1999. He was involved in the arms procurement and was the subject of investigations into the process.

He died aged 72. He is survived by his wife, Jackie Sedibe, and daughters Dipuso and Lesedi.