Cyril Ramaphosa is a businessman, trade union leader, South African Politician, anti-apartheid activist, and philanthropist. He is the current President of South Africa. Besides, he is the African Union chairperson and the President of the African National Congress responsible for strategic planning.
Cyril Ramaphosa is the Deputy President of South Africa from 2014 to 2018. Also, Cyril Ramaphosa was the former chairperson of the National Planning Commission, responsible for strategic planning for the future of South Africa.
According to Forbes Africa’s Richest Men ranking as of 2015, Cyril’s net worth was $450 million. Cyril is one of the prominent businessmen in South Africa.
Cyril Ramaphosa Background
The President of South Africa, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, was born November 17, 1952, in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. He was born to Samwel and Erdmuth Ramaphosa in a family of three. He is the second born.
Cyril started his education at Tshilidzi Primary School. He then moved to the Sekano Ntoane High School in Soweto. Cyril Ramaphosa also attended the Mphaphuli High School, Venda, and headed the Christian Movement.
In 1972, Cyril attended the University of the North (Turfloop), Limpopo Province, to study Law. Cyril was active in school politics while at the University and organized rallies, which later got him convicted for Terrorism Act twice.
While at the University of South Africa (UNISA), he worked as a law clerk for Jo’burg firm of Attorneys’ Attorneys while he continued with his legal studies. He obtained the B.proc. Degree in 1981.
Personal Life
Between 1978 to 1989, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa married Hope Ramaphosa. Later in 1991 to 1993, he got married to the late Nomazizi Mitshotshisa.
Currently, he is married to the sister of the South African mining billionaire, Tshepo Motsepe.
Only five of his children are known. He is also known for a polyglot; he includes various South African languages in his speeches.
Cyril Ramaphosa Early Career
He joined the Council of Union of South Africa (CUSA) after completing his education for a law degree and served as a Legal Advisor. He began the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 1982 based on the request of the Council, CUSA.
Cyril Ramaphosa became the first General Secretary of the group and was active in establishing the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
Ramaphosa served as the chairman of the National Reception Committee and also took part in the release of Nelson Mandela. Later, he became the ANC Secretary-General and became the head of the ANC’s negotiation team at the convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and other multi-party talks.
He was the Constitutional Assembly’s chairperson in 1994, the year South Africa’s first democratic elections were conducted. He oversaw the drafting of the South Africa constitution.
Political Position
Ramaphosa was appointed the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa on May 25, 2014, by President Jacob Zuma. He was also made the Government Business in the National Assembly according to the constitution.
In February 2018, after the resignation of Job Zuma, Cyril Rmaposa was elected unopposed as the President of the Republic of South Africa.
Among other achievements, at the 2020 African Union Summit, President Ramaphosa pledged his support for the African Continental Free Trade Area. To ensure gender equality in South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa declared his support.
Cyril Ramaphosa has made the economy and land reformation his main priorities. To his bucket of importance was dealing with Listeriosis’s outbreak, which claimed the lives of over 100 people in South Africa in March 2018.
Ramaphosa also launched the Youth Employment Serves (YES), an initiative that makes sure the youths are employed and gives them experience in the working field. He also found Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE), an initiative that responds to the sanitary challenges that the poorest schools in South Africa undergo.
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Entrepreneurial Life
Cyril resigned in 1997 after serving in parliament for about three years. Before he founded the Shanduka Group in 2011, a company that owns stakes in mining entities, McDonald’s South African subsidiaries, Financial institutions, and Coca-Cola bottling plants, he joined New Africa investments.
To avoid conflict of interest, Cyril Ramaphosa stepped back from his business pursuits after he was appointed the Deputy President of South Africa in 2014.
Cyril stepped down as the chairperson of Shanduka Group in 2015 and sold his stake. Later with assets worth $900 million, the company merged with the Pembani Group to form a Pan African Industrial Holding Group.
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Awards and Recognition
Cyril Ramaphosa has gained prevalent recognition and has been awarded many awards and honorary doctorate degrees. In 2016, He was installed as the first Chancellor of the University of Mpumalanga. Besides, he has received honorary doctorates degrees from various institutions, including;
- University of Natal
- National University of Ireland Galway
- National University of Lesotho
- Port Elizabeth University
- University of Cape Town
- Pennsylvania University
- University of Massachusetts, Boston
- University of Venda
Other recognitions include;
- 1987, Olof Palme Prize
- Voted 34 in the Top 100 Great South Africans.
- 2007 Time 100 Most Influential Persons in the World
- 2009, National Order of the Baobab in Silver
- 2015, One of the richest men in South Africa
- One of Africa’ 50 Richest, Forbes 2015 but dropped off in 2016
- 2017, Lifetime Achievement Award, Regenesys Business School
- 2018, The Symbol of Black Capitalism in South Africa, BBC
- 2019, Universal Health Care Award, The Access-Challenge, New York
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