Deputy President Paul Mashatile was born at Geraldsville, Pretoria, in Gauteng Province, on 21 October 1961.

During his early political activism, Mr. Mashatile has held various leadership positions including joining the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) while studying at Alexandra High School. Together with other young people in Alexandra, they established the Alexandra Youth Congress (AYCO) where he later became its first President. He went on to be elected as the General Secretary of the United Democratic Front (UDF) from 1989 until the unbanning of political parties in 1990 when the UDF was dissolved.

Owing to his political activism, he was detained under the State of Emergency regulations declared by then apartheid State President P.W. Botha and spent more than four years in prison without trail. While in prison he pursued academic studies.

In 1992 he was appointed as General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in Gauteng, a position he held from 1992 to 2010. He was also head of political education for the ANC Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) region.

In addition, the Deputy President has also risen through the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC). He was elected the Chairperson of the Gauteng Province in 1992 and also elected as the Provincial Secretary of the ANC, a position he held for six years; and in 1998 he was the Deputy Chairperson of the ANC in Gauteng.

Deputy President Mashatile has vast experience in governance where he held a number of positions in Government including:
- Leader of House Gauteng Legislature from 1994 to 1996
- MEC for Safety and Security
- MEC for Housing from 1999 to 2004;
- Member of Executive Council (MEC) for Finance and Economic Affairs from 2004 to 2008
- Premier of Gauteng Province from 2008 to 2009
- Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture from 2009 to 2010
- Minister of Arts and Culture from 2010 to 2014
- Chairperson of Appropriation Committee in Parliament 2014 – 2016

In 2017 he was elected the Treasurer-General of the Party at its 54th National conference, during his tenure as the Treasurer-General he also acted at the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary- General of the ANC.

He was sworn in as Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa on 07 March 2023 following his appointment to this role by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

As Deputy President of South Africa, he has been delegated responsibilities as follows:
- Leader of Government Business in Parliament.
- Leading Government effort to fast-track land reform and the coordination of Government programmes to accelerate land reform and agricultural support.
- Implement Rapid Response interventions on service delivery and trouble-shooting in service delivery hotspots.
- Assisting the President in the roll-out of the District Development Model through effective coordination of the different spheres of government which will improve the functioning of municipalities and address community concerns.
- Leading the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) and the country's integrated response to the challenges of HIV and AIDS.
- Special Envoy on South Sudan and leading peace missions on the continent as required.
- Leading the National Human Resource Development Council and fostering collaboration between government and social partners towards addressing the shortage of skills in critical sectors of the economy.
- Promoting Social Cohesion Initiatives with a particular focus on Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, as well as Military Veterans.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile also chairs the following Cabinet Committees
- Governance, State Capacity and Institutional Development
- Justice, Crime Prevention and Security

Deputy President Mashatile was married to Manzi Mashatile who passed on in 2020. In March 2023, he got married to Humile Bogatsu, who is now Mrs Mashatile. Mr Mashatile has six children: Palesa, Tinyiko, Thabiso, Ayanda, Zodwa and Goapele.