Geopolitics › Sub-Saharan Africa › South Africa
Cyril Ramaphosa
President since Feb 2018· Leader
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
South Africa's president since 2018, a former union leader and anti-apartheid negotiator turned wealthy businessman.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
Born in 1952 in Soweto, he founded the National Union of Mineworkers and was the ANC's chief negotiator in the talks that ended apartheid, helping shape the 1996 constitution. He then built a business fortune before returning as deputy president in 2014. He replaced Jacob Zuma in 2018, promising to fight corruption. After the ANC lost its majority in 2024, he formed a coalition government. In 2025 he hosted the first G20 summit in Africa, which the US boycotted.
Why it matters
He embodies South Africa's middle path, market-friendly at home and nonaligned abroad, which has put him at odds with the Trump administration.
Record
Records of the constitutional negotiations, parliamentary votes, the 2022 'Phala Phala' inquiry into cash stolen from his farm, and G20 records. His legacy is still being written.
What to watch
Whether his coalition delivers reforms before his term ends in 2029, and who succeeds him at the ANC's December 2027 leadership conference.
Connections (2)
▸Cyril Ramaphosa leads South AfricaFact
The relationship
Elected by Parliament, South Africa's president is both head of state and head of government. Ramaphosa leads the ANC and, since 2024, a ten-party Government of National Unity in which the Democratic Alliance holds key ministries, so he must bargain over policy.
Since when and why
Pretoria and Cape Town; first elected in February 2018 after Jacob Zuma resigned, re-elected by the new Parliament in June 2024.
How we know
Parliamentary election records, the coalition's statement of intent and cabinet appointments.
What to watch
Whether coalition fights, such as those over the 2025 budget and land expropriation, break up the government early.
▸Cyril Ramaphosa hosted the 2025 summit of G20 (Group of Twenty)Fact
The relationship
South Africa held the 2025 G20 presidency under the theme 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability', pressing debt relief and climate finance for poor countries. Trump boycotted the summit, citing claims, which Pretoria rejects, that white Afrikaner farmers are persecuted. Leaders adopted a declaration without the US, and Trump said South Africa would not be invited in 2026.
Since when and why
Johannesburg, November 22–23, 2025, the first G20 leaders' summit held in Africa.
How we know
The summit declaration, White House and South African government statements, and Trump's social-media posts announcing the boycott and the 2026 exclusion.
What to watch
Whether South Africa is actually excluded in 2026, and whether the rift is mainly about Afrikaners, Israel or South Africa's BRICS alignment.