south africa political head of state

He often travelled around the country with Walter Sisulu visiting violence flashpoints. White House State Dinner Speeches Oct. 4, 1994 - President Mandela and President Bill Clinton. After the 1994 elections, Zuma requested to be deployed to KwaZulu Natal to work to cement peace between the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). * Worked for the ANC office in London (1967 – 1970). Controversial business dealings include his joint venture with Glencore and allegations of benefitting illegally from coal deals with Eskom which he has staunchly denied, during which Glencore was in the public spotlight for its tendentious business activities involving Tony Blair in the Middle East; his son, Andile Ramaphosa, has also been found to have accepted payments totalling R2 million from Bosasa, the security company implicated in corruption and state capture by the Zondo commission; and his employment on the board of directors of Lonmin while taking an active stance when the Marikana Massacre took place on Lonmin’s Marikana premises. The Governor-General was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Motlanthe worked for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in charge of education. South Africa has one of the continent's biggest and most developed economies. … South Africa's watchdog has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of misleading parliament and potential money laundering over a campaign donation. During his tenure, NUM established the JB Marks Education Trust, which provided bursaries to mineworkers and their dependants, and a resident trade union school called the Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre, located in Yeoville, Johannesburg. Zuma was elected ANC Deputy President in December 1997. As the executive manager of government, The Presidency is at the apex of South Africa’s government system. While in NUM he served on the Miners’ International Federation, and was involved in exchange programmes with the United Mineworkers of Australia. South Africans know and love him for his prowess on the dance floor and his impeccable vocal chords. As a result, Inkatha abstained from registering its party for the 1994 election (a necessity in order to receive votes), in opposition. Mmusi Maimane leads South Africa’s official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), with the hope of loosening the African National Congress’ (ANC) tight political grip. He is also the former Chairman of the National Planning Commission, which is responsible for strategic planning for the future of the country, with the goal of rallying South Africa “around a common set of objectives and priorities to drive development over the longer term”. Nelson Mandela. Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) The Committee was established by the AU Assembly in July 2009 at its 13th ordinary session. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa (Re-elected on May 22, 2019) Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African politician and the PlanetRulers - Current Heads of State & Dictators * Served as Assistant Secretary to the Revolutionary Council of the ANC in Lusaka (1971). This country is led by the President, who is both the Head of State and the Head of Government. * Sent to Nigeria (December 1976) as a representative of the ANC. Chief of State: President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa Head of Government: President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa Overview Government Name: Republic of South Africa Constitution: Adopted: 1996; Establishes the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. As a strong democracy and … Played a major role in assisting students from South Africa to relocate in an unfamiliar environment. As MEC Zuma worked hard to develop the tourism industry in the province and was highly regarded by the sector. * Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the Glasgow Caledonian University (19 May 2000). * Participated in all subsequent negotiations leading to the adoption of the interim Constitution for the new South Africa. The basic ideas of this system such as a three branch government and strong Parliament remain in force today. He was elected President of the African National Congress (ANC) at the ANC National Conference in December 2017. The honorable President of the South Africa is the head of the government as well as head of the state and works under the respectable constitution of the South Africa. In December 1994, he was elected ANC National Chairperson. In 1984, under the Tricameral Constitution, the State President gained executive powers, becoming head of both state and government. He is a polyglot, and is known for including a variety of South African languages when delivering most of his speeches. Since 1994, under the Interim Constitution and the current Constitution, the head of state and government has been called the President. 18 July 1918 . In the event of a vacancy the Cabinet would nominate a member to serve as Acting State President. He became an active member of the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, in 1962, following the banning of the ANC in 1960. The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under the Constitution of South Africa. * Completed British A level examinations (1960 and 1961). * President of the Republic of South Africa since 14 June 1999. Despite his credentials as an important proponent of his country’s peaceful transition to democracy, he has also been criticised for the conduct of his business interests although he has never been indicted for illegal activity in any of these controversies. During the Abdication Crisis the South African parliament passed its own act, "His Majesty King Edward the Eighth's Abdication Act, 1937", to ratify the abdication of Edward VIII. Under the Interim Constitution and the current Constitution the President of South Africa is head of both state and government. This is a list of the heads of state of South Africa from the foundation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 to the present day. He was elected President of the Republic of South Africa on 6 May 2009. * Chairperson of the African Union (July 2002 – July 2003). * President of the African National Congress (ANC) since 1997. * Joined African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) while a student at the Lovedale Institute (1956). South African history has beendominated by the interactionand conflict of several diverseethnic groups. Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African politician and the fifth and current President of South Africa. On 15 August 2012 he called for action against the Marikana miners’ strike, which he called “dastardly criminal” conduct that needed “concomitant action” to be taken. Mbete, Baleka, Ms Former Government Leaders: View Current Leaders He played an instrumental role in normalising relations within the multiparty government of the ANC and IFP. Ramaphosa built up the biggest and most powerful trade union in the country – the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Mostof thepopulation, however, tracetheir history to immigrationsince. Some have claimed that South Africa’s woes began with president Zuma but this is not true. * Executive Deputy President in the South African Government (1994 – 13 June 1999). He was elected unopposed as the Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1997 and was re-elected in 2002. Find out more about the greatest South African Political Leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Cecil Rhodes, Jacob Zuma, Tokyo Sexwale and Thabo Mbeki. F. W. de Klerk. Ramaphosa is a very private person and not much is known about his personal life. Among other things, he was involved in training workers to form shopsteward committees. Under this constitution, South Africa is a parliamentary republic although, unlike most such republics, the President is both head of state and head of government. * Continued with political activities as a university student in the UK, mobilising the international student community against apartheid. Parliament sits in Cape Town, even though the seat of … He has been called a skillful negotiator and strategist who acted as the ANC’s Chief Negotiator during South Africa’s transition to democracy. The President’s … Photos and bios of the current Heads of State, Dictators and First Ladies. His strategic thinking and conflict resolution skills played a pivotal role in ending conflict in KwaZulu Natal and the then PWV region, where state-sponsored violence was tearing communities apart. He later admitted and regretted his involvement in the act and said that it could have been avoided if contingency plans had been made prior to the labour strike. By the end of the 1980s he was head of the ANC Intelligence Department. * Member of the ANC’s Political and Military Council. * Sent to Botswana (1973). Ramaphosa is also the founder of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation. Cyril Ramaphosa According to the Constitution, the government of South Africa is divided into 3 branches: executive, legisl… The President is elected by the National Assembly and serves a term that expires at the next general election; a President may serve a maximum of two terms. The unit was later instructed to transform its function from recruitment to sabotage. Power shift at Luthuli House. Politics. During this period he was involved in underground work with former President Thabo Mbeki and others, giving leadership to ANC structures operating inside South Africa. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, Former President of South Africa, Date of Birth: 18 June 1942 Few state-owned enterprises ( SOE s) or public departments escaped capture. Awards/Decorations/Presentations/Bursaries. Cyril Ramaphosa. Politics 12.2 .2020 02:16 pm ... claiming that he was the “incapable head of an incapable state” ahead of the state of the nation address (Sona) set for Thursday 13 February at 7pm. Ramaphosa is known to be one of the richest people in South Africa, with an estimated net worth of more than $450,000,000 and has appeared in financial magazines such as Forbes Africa and Bloomberg. The President is both the chief of state and the head of the Government. The election to this post meant succeeding the late former President and Chairperson of the ANC, Oliver R Tambo, with whom he had a close working relationship. This has proven to be one of the best examples of effective economic empowerment in the country. The President is the also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, declares war or peace and appoints the Cabinet. This is a list of the heads of state of South Africa from the foundation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 to the present day.. From 1910 to 1961 the head of state under the South Africa Act 1909 was the Monarch, who was the same person as the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other Dominions/Commonwealth realms.The Monarch was represented in South Africa by a Governor-General. *Marital Status: Married. Ceremonial State President of South Africa (1961–1984), Executive State President of South Africa (1984–1994), Department of International Relations and Cooperation, His Majesty King Edward the Eighth's Abdication Act, 1937, "Emotional farewell as Mbeki holds last cabinet meeting", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_heads_of_state_of_South_Africa&oldid=1002018446, Lists of political office-holders in South Africa, Short description is different from Wikidata, Use South African English from August 2015, All Wikipedia articles written in South African English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 22 January 2021, at 12:35. The aboriginalKhoisan people have lived inthe region for millennia. The State President was elected by Parliament for a seven-year term. He was instrumental in organising the Groote-Schuur Minute between the De Klerk government and the ANC that reached important decisions about the return of exiles and the release of political prisoners. Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma was born in 1942 in Inkandla, KwaZulu Natal to Gcinamazwi and Nokubhekisisa Zuma. * Engaged the Botswana Government in discussions to open an ANC office in that country. The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has described late Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu as the friend and defender of media freedom and freedom of expression. Career/Positions/Memberships/Other Activities. Jacob Zuma. 17 November 1952. Yesterday at 21:00 PM, via Mail & Guardian. Served as Director of Information and as Secretary for Presidential Affairs. * Involved in mobilising the students and youth in support of the ANC call for a stay away in protest against the creation of a Republic (1961). Previously an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader and businessman, Ramaphosa served as the Deputy President of South Africa from 2014 to 2018. Political system of south africa 1. The British monarch was the ceremonial head of state of South Africa and was represented by a Governor-General. When the ANC was unbanned in 1990, he was put in charge of re-establishing the legal structures of the organisation in the PWV region and was elected its first chairperson. * Part of the delegation which engaged the National Party Government in talks about talks. Ramaphosa was elected president by the National Assembly to his first full term on May 22 following the ANC’s victory in the 2019 South African general election. He was instrumental in negotiating a deal for mineworkers under which their wage increases would be pegged to productivity at a time when the gold price was low, and the industry was closing marginal mines. Beneficiaries are primarily from impoverished backgrounds in rural areas. In 1998 he established the Jacob Zuma RDP Educational Trust Fund. Zuma was elected ANC President in December 2007, becoming the ANC’s candidate for South African president in the 2009 elections. He also dealt with the thousands of young exiles that poured out of South Africa in the wake of the Soweto uprising in June 1976. The President is appointed and elected by the members of the National Assembly and is normally the leader of the biggest party that has been the African National Congress since 1994, after the first non racial elections. Their unit was also involved in smuggling MK cadres in and out of the country via Swaziland. Former Speaker: National Assembly. * Director of the Department of Information and Publicity (1984 – 1989). After his release in 1987, he was tasked with strengthening the union movement. ABOUT US. In the 1970s, while working for the Johannesburg City Council, he was recruited into Umkhonto we Sizwe. * Newsmaker of the Year from Pretoria Press Club (22 August 2000). In July 2008 he was appointed Minister in The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa, and on 25 September 2008 was sworn in as South Africa’s third democratically elected President. * Left South Africa together with other students on instructions of the ANC (1962). He joined the provincial government as MEC of Economic Affairs and Tourism. An exception was made in the ANC Constitution to allow him to serve as both provincial chairperson and National Chairperson. * Elected Chairperson of the ANC (1993). He owns a luxury mansion at the foot of Lion’s Head in Cape Town. * Attended primary school at Idutywa and Butterworth and high school at Lovedale, Alice. The United States and South Africa share strong educational and people-to-people ties, significant economic and political interests, as well as common development objectives throughout Africa. President Zuma has three wives, Ms Sizakele Khumalo (MaKhumalo), Ms Nompumelelo Ntuli (MaNtuli) and Ms Tobeka Madiba (KaMadiba). The government of South Africa operates under a parliamentary system as a representative democratic republic. * Master of Economics degree, University of Sussex (1966). 2. He created a good working relationship between business and labour, and worked tirelessly to facilitate new investments into the KwaZulu Natal economy. * Re-elected to the NEC (1985). Part of his task was the internal mobilisation and the creation of underground structures. After his release, Zuma helped mobilise internal resistance and was instrumental in the re-establishment of ANC underground structures in the then Natal between 1974 and 1975. Zuma has received several awards, including the Nelson Mandela Award for Outstanding Leadership in Washington DC, US (1998), and honorary doctorates from University of Fort Hare, University of Zululand, Medical University of Southern Africa, and University of the North (2001). He was among the first ANC leaders to have contact with exiled and visiting members of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). There are four living former South African Presidents and one living former Queen of South Africa: The most recent death of a South African president was Nelson Mandela in 2013. 12 April 1942. In 1977 he was found guilty of three charges under Terrorism Act and sentenced to an effective 10 years imprisonment on Robben Island. The Governor-General was the representative of the monarch in South Africa and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. He participated in the Groote Schuur and Pretoria deliberations, which resulted in the agreements which became known as the Groote Schuur and Pretoria Minutes (1990). * Honorary Doctorate from Rand Afrikaans University (17 September 1999). Anti-Apartheid Activist, President of ANC and. Forced by circumstance to educate himself – his father had died and his mother could not afford to pay for formal schooling – he established an informal school in his village. Home China World Politics Business Opinions Tech & Sci Culture Sports Travel Nature Picture Video Live Specials Europe North America Aferica Home China World Politics Business Opinions Tech & Sci Culture Sports Travel Nature Picture Video Live Specials Transcript. Up until 1994 it was ruled by a white minority government, which … * Sat for matriculation examinations at St John’s High School, Umtata (1959). Who is the president of South Africa? South Africa Politics: Report: ANC decides to remove Zuma as head of state . The Monarch was represented in South Africa by a Governor-General. In 1992 he was elected NUM General Secretary. He was also involved in establishing the Mineworkers Development Agency, which focused on the developmental needs of ex-mineworkers, their dependants and communities. The fund has educated more than 20,000 children at primary school level to university. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President. As a result of his contact and discussions with the BCM, some of the leading members of this organisation found their way into the ranks of the ANC. * Involved in underground activities in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand area after the African National Congress (ANC) was banned in 1960. Under the 1961 Constitution, the first constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the State President replaced the Monarch as ceremonial head of state. During his tenure he distinguished himself in his role as mediator and facilitator of peace on the continent, especially in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). * Sent to Swaziland as acting representative of the ANC. The country has an unusual geographical location of the main institutions. * Became a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC (1975). The nature of the State : South Africa is a federal republic with a parliamentary republic. * Elected Secretary of the African Students’ Association (December 1961). South African President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address Feb. 11, 2010 and the South African State of the Nation addresses for 2003-2008 (President Thabo Mbeki). He left South Africa in December 1975 and for the next 12 years was based in Southern Africa, first in Swaziland and then Mozambique. Political leaders : President: Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since February 2018) – ANC ; the president is both chief of state and head of governmentExecutive Deputy President: David MABUZA (since February 2018) - ANC Elections : Presidential: May 2024 Legislative (National Council of Provinces and National Assembly) : 2024 To … Real political power lay in the hands of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He became President following the resignation of Jacob Zuma. He became widely known is this critical position at a time when the ANC had the difficult task of protecting the organisation from infiltration and to ensure its survival. He/She is usually the leader of the largest party. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President. Under the 1983 Constitution the State President was head of both state and government. He played a crucial role, with Roelf Meyer of the National Party, during the negotiations to bring about a peaceful end to apartheid and steer the country towards its first fully democratic elections in April 1994. * The focus of his activities during this time was to consolidate the underground structures of the ANC and to mobilise the people inside South Africa. Ramaphosa has five known children. Presidents of South Africa – Past and Present South African Heads State Pieter Botha Previous offices: State President of South Africa (1984–1989), Prime Minister of South Africa … The State President was elected by an electoral college chosen by Parliament and served until the next general election, but was eligible for re-election. He became a member of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) in 1977. * Expelled from school as a result of student strikes (1959) and forced to continue studies at home. From 1910 to 1961 the head of state under the South Africa Act 1909 was the Monarch, who was the same person as the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other Dominions/Commonwealth realms.