Cyril Ramaphosa

Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa was born on 17 November 1952 and is a South African businessman and politician. He has served as the president of South Africa since 2018. Before becoming president, Ramaphosa was a well-known activist and leader in the fight against anti-apartheid, and he led one of South Africa's biggest trade union groups, the National Union of Mineworkers.

In 1991, Ramaphosa became a key leader in the African National Congress (ANC) and helped negotiate the end of apartheid with Nelson Mandela. After a time away from politics, he returned in 2012 and became the deputy president of South Africa in 2014. In 2017, he was elected president of the ANC, and in 2018, he became president of South Africa after Jacob Zuma resigned.

Ramaphosa was re-elected as president of South Africa in 2024, even though his party did not win a majority in that year's election. During his time as president, he led South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic and served as chairperson of the African Union from 2020 to 2021. He is also known for his business successes and has been involved in many companies over the years.

Early life

Cyril Ramaphosa was born on 17 November 1952 in Soweto, Johannesburg, to Venda parents. He was the second of three children in his family. He went to Tshilidzi Primary School and Sekano Ntoane High School in Soweto, and later finished his school years at Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, Venda.

While in school, Ramaphosa joined student groups like the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) and the Black People's Convention (BPC). He was detained for a period for organizing gatherings, but continued his legal studies by correspondence and earned a degree in 1981.

Anti-apartheid and labour activism

After finishing his studies, Cyril Ramaphosa began working with a group of unions in South Africa called the Council of Unions of South Africa. In 1982, he helped start a new union for mineworkers named the National Union of Mineworkers. He was later arrested for planning a meeting that was not allowed by local leaders.

Ramaphosa became the leader of this new union and helped organize big events for workers. He also worked with other groups fighting for change, like the African National Congress. Under his leadership, the union grew from just 6,000 members to over 300,000 by 1992. He also led one of the largest strikes in South Africa's history during this time.

Rise in the ANC (1990–1996)

After the ANC was allowed to operate freely in 1990, Cyril Ramaphosa grew closer to the group. In January 1990, he joined released political prisoners at the ANC headquarters in Lusaka, Zambia. Later that year, he helped organize celebrations for Nelson Mandela's release from prison.

In July 1991, Ramaphosa was chosen as Secretary-General of the ANC. He also took part in talks to end apartheid. After South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, he became a member of Parliament and helped lead the group writing the new constitution. However, in 1996, he stepped down from his political roles, feeling disappointed that Thabo Mbeki would become the next leader instead.

Business career (1996–2014)

After leaving politics, Ramaphosa became a businessman. He used the new Black Economic Empowerment policy to grow his career. He was the executive chairman of the Shanduka Group, a company he founded. This company invested in many areas like minerals, energy, real estate, banking, insurance, and telecommunications through SEACOM. By 2014, Shanduka was worth over R20-billion, and Ramaphosa's family trust owned most of it.

He also chaired many important companies such as Bidvest, MTN, and Mondi. He was a director in other big companies too. In 2011, he bought the rights to run 145 McDonald's restaurants in South Africa for 20 years. He was also part of advisory boards for big international companies.

Cattle farming

In 2004, during a visit to Uganda, Ramaphosa became interested in a special breed of cattle called Ankole. Because of health rules in Uganda, he could not bring these cows directly to South Africa. So, he bought 43 cows from Uganda's president and had them bred in Kenya. The babies were then brought to South Africa. By 2017, he had 100 of these special cows on his farm in Mpumalanga. That same year, he wrote a book about these cows.

Public service

Even after leaving politics, Ramaphosa took on some public roles. He was the first Vice Chairman of the Commonwealth Business Council and chaired South Africa's BEE Commission. In 2000, he helped inspect weapons in Northern Ireland. In 2010, he was appointed to South Africa's National Planning Commission.

In 2008, during a difficult time in Kenya, he was asked to help with peace talks. But he stepped back because some people did not trust him. Later, in 2014, he helped with peace efforts in South Sudan as a special envoy for the South African President.

He also stayed involved with the ANC, the political party he supported. He was often voted into important positions within the party.

ANC Deputy Presidency (2012–2017)

Main article: 53rd National Conference of the African National Congress

In 2012, Cyril Ramaphosa returned to politics and was asked to become the Deputy President of the African National Congress (ANC). On May 20, another ANC member, Derek Hanekom, encouraged Ramaphosa to run for a higher position, but Ramaphosa said this was just a joke.

Later, on December 16, Ramaphosa agreed to accept the role of Deputy President. He was officially elected on December 18 with a large majority, receiving 3,018 votes. Two other candidates, Mathews Phosa and Tokyo Sexwale, received far fewer votes.

Deputy Presidency of South Africa (2014–2018)

ANC Presidency (2017–present)

Election

Main article: 54th National Conference of the African National Congress

In 2017, Cyril Ramaphosa ran to become the leader of the African National Congress (ANC). He promised to fight against unfair business practices and to help grow the economy. Many important people and groups supported him. On December 18, 2017, he won the election and became the new leader of the ANC.

Renewal project

After becoming the leader, Ramaphosa promised to make the ANC better and more honest. He introduced rules to stop leaders who were accused of unfair actions from staying in their jobs. This caused some disagreements within the party. In 2022, he was chosen again to lead the ANC for another five years.

Presidency of South Africa (2018–present)

Following President Jacob Zuma's resignation in February 2018, Ramaphosa was elected unopposed as President of South Africa by the National Assembly on 15 February 2018. Ramaphosa took his oath of office in the presidential guesthouse, Tuynhuys, by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.

Markets rallied strongly the day after Ramaphosa assumed the presidency with stocks rising and the rand reaching its firmest since early 2015. Government bonds also increased in strength.

On 16 February 2018, Ramaphosa gave his first State of the Nation Address as the president of South Africa, the first time in a democratic South Africa where the president delivered his State of the Nation Address without a deputy president. Ramaphosa emphasised the need to grow the economy of South Africa, increase tourism and youth employment, as well as reduce the size of the Cabinet. In this speech, Ramaphosa also focused on the importance of keeping Mandela's legacy alive.

On 26 February 2018, Ramaphosa, who had inherited Jacob Zuma's cabinet, reshuffled cabinet for the first time removing many of the cabinet members who had been controversial through the Zuma era and who had close links to the Gupta family. Ramaphosa also named the deputy president of the African National Congress and the Premier of Mpumalanga, David Mabuza, as the country's Deputy President.

On 8 May 2019, the African National Congress led by President Ramaphosa won 57.50% of the vote in the 2019 South African general election. Ramaphosa was subsequently elected unopposed to his first full term as president by the National Assembly on 22 May 2019. As Ramaphosa had previously been elected as president to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of his predecessor, he is constitutionally eligible to serve two full terms.

Since Ramaphosa became president he has made land reform and the economy his main priorities, as well as dealing with the outbreak of listeriosis.

In February 2018, South Africa's parliament voted 241–83 to begin amending the "property clause" in the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation.

He signed the Expropriation Act, 2024 into law which allows the government to expropriate land without compensation through a court process in the public interest. He has said that the policy would encourage economic growth.

South Africa made world headlines because of attacks against foreign nationals within the borders of the country.

On 10 June 2021, Ramaphosa announced that his government would raise the threshold for the amount of electricity that private companies could produce without a license – from 1 Megawatt to 100 Megawatts.

On 11 February 2022, Ramaphosa announced that his government will formalise the South African cannabis industry, seeking to grow both production and exports.

Ramaphosa launched the Youth Employment Service (YES) initiative as a means to employ one million youth and giving them more experience in the working field.

On 14 August 2018, President Ramaphosa addressed the launch of the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) initiative in Pretoria to respond to the sanitary challenges facing the country's poorest schools.

Ramaphosa has been internationally praised for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. In October 2020, Ramaphosa began a period of self-isolation after a guest at a dinner party he attended tested positive for coronavirus.

On 12 December 2021, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele announced that Ramaphosa had tested positive for COVID-19, and deputy president, David Mabuza would take over "all responsibilities" for the following week.

Political philanthropy

In 2018, Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he would give half of his salary, which was R3.6 million each year, to charity. He did this to honor Nelson Mandela, a former president of South Africa, and to inspire wealthy people to help improve their country. This donation was managed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Ramaphosa also started the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation.

Controversies

Marikana massacre

Main article: Marikana massacre

In 2012, police in South Africa used force against workers who were on strike. This sad event led to many people being hurt or losing their lives, and it caused a lot of anger and questions about how the government handled the situation. Cyril Ramaphosa, who was connected to the company where the strike happened, asked for strong action, which later caused some people to think he played a part in what happened.

Extramarital affair

In 2017, news reports said that Ramaphosa had relationships outside his marriage. He said these stories were made up to hurt his chances of becoming president. Some private messages between him and someone else were shared online, which caused more talk and attention.

CR17 campaign funds

In 2019, there were questions about money given to help Ramaphosa’s campaign to become president of the ANC. Some people thought he didn’t tell the whole truth about where the money came from. Ramaphosa said the reports were wrong and asked for a review of the findings.

Conduct of business interests

Ramaphosa has faced criticism for some of his business choices, but he has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing. There have been talks about deals he made and money his son received from a company that was later linked to corruption.

Phala Phala robbery

Main article: 2020 Phala Phala Robbery

In 2020, a large amount of money was said to have been taken from a farm owned by Ramaphosa. There were later claims of hiding what happened and trying to stop the people involved from talking. In 2024, it was decided that no charges would be brought against Ramaphosa or others linked to the event.

Tembisa Hospital

In 2025, a video showed Ramaphosa with someone linked to a big scandal involving money missing from a hospital. Ramaphosa first said he didn’t know this person, but later admitted that he did.

Honours and awards

Cyril Ramaphosa has received many awards and honours from different countries and organizations. In 1987, he was given the Olof Palme Prize in Stockholm. In 1995, he received the "Archivio Disarmo - Golden Doves for Peace" prize.

In 2009, he was presented with the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town. He has also been listed among influential people, ranking 34th in the list of Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004 and appearing in the Time 100 in 2007 and 2019.

Ramaphosa has also received honorary doctorates from several universities around the world, including the University of Natal, the University of Port Elizabeth, the University of Cape Town, the University of Limpopo, the National University of Lesotho, National University of Galway, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the University of Pennsylvania.

State honours

Personal life

Cyril Ramaphosa was married to Hope Ramaphosa from 1978 to 1989, and they have a son together. He later married Nomazizi Mtshotshisa from 1991 to 1993, and then married Tshepo Motsepe, a medical doctor, in 1996. Tshepo Motsepe is the sister of Patrice Motsepe, a wealthy businessman in South Africa. Ramaphosa is believed to have five children in total.

He owns a large home near Lion's Head in Cape Town and has many other properties. In 2018, his wealth was estimated to be very large. Ramaphosa can speak many languages and often uses different South African languages when he speaks to people.