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President Cyril Ramaphosa

Early life
Ramaphosa was born in Soweto, Johannesburg, on 17 November 1952 which makes him 66 years old, the second of the three children to Erdmuth and retired policeman Samuel Ramaphosa. He attended Tshilidzi Primary School and Sekano Ntoane High School in Soweto. In 1971, he matriculated from Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, Venda where he was elected head of the Student Christian Movement. He subsequently registered to study law at the University of the North (Turfloop) in Limpopo Province in 1972.

While at university, Ramaphosa became involved in student politics and joined the South African Students Organisation (SASO) and the Black People's Convention (BPC). This resulted in him being detained in solitary confinement for eleven months in 1974 under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, 1967, for organising pro-Frelimo rallies. In 1976 he was detained again, following the unrest in Soweto, and held for six months at John Vorster Square under the Terrorism Act. After his release, he became a law clerk for a Johannesburg firm of attorneys and continued with his legal studies through correspondence with the University of South Africa (UNISA), where he obtained his B. Proc. Degree in 1981.

Career
Struggle leader

Cyril Ramaphosa is a stalwart of the South African liberation struggle, a skilful and formidable negotiator and strategist, and one of the most influential leaders in the ANC and the country. He built the largest and most powerful trade union in South Africa, the National Union of Mineworkers, which made immeasurable improvements in the living conditions and working standards of the country’s largest workforce.

Negotiating a new era

When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, Cyril Ramaphosa was at his side to introduce him to the crowds at Cape Town City Hall. While ANC Secretary General, he led the ANC team in negotiations with the National Party regime to bring about a peaceful end to apartheid and steer the country towards its first democratic elections. Ramaphosa also chaired the Constitutional Assembly, which adopted South Africa’s first democratic Constitution.

Successful business person

Following the adoption of the Constitution, Ramaphosa went into business. He chaired the Black Economic Empowerment Commission, which helped establish South Africa’s broad-based empowerment policies. He established Shanduka Group in 2002, which he built into a leading black-owned and -managed diversified investing holding company. As a result of his appointment as Deputy President in 2014, Ramaphosa divested of his stake in Shanduka.

Social entrepreneur

Cyril Ramaphosa is chairperson of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation (formerly Shanduka Foundation) which does critical work in education, skills development and enterprise development. Through its programmes, the Foundation has adopted over 600 schools and assisted almost 800 000 learners, provided comprehensive bursaries to over 100 university students, and provided incubation support to over 900 black-owned small businesses that have created 10,000 jobs.

Serving people

Ramaphosa was elected Deputy President of the ANC in December 2012 and has served as Deputy President of South Africa since 2014. He was the Deputy Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, which was responsible for drafting the National Development Plan.

Endorsements
The 54th National Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) took place from 16 to 20 December 2017 in the Expo Centre Johannesburg at Nasrec, Gauteng, as the elective conference to elect the members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) as well as other major party officials.

On 18 December 2017, Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent Deputy President of the ANC since 2012 and Deputy President of South Africa since 2014, was elected as President of the ANC, narrowly defeating Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Following 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.

As President of the ANC, Ramaphosa will be the party's candidate for President of South Africa in the South African general election, 2019.

Television
The bombing was widely condemned in Zimbabwe and abroad by politicians of both ZANU–PF and opposition parties, and by other public figures. In an interview with the BBC several days after the blast, Mnangagwa blamed the attack on former First Lady Grace Mugabe's G40 faction within ZANU–PF, while stopping short of blaming Mugabe directly. On 27 June 2018, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces stated that they had arrested an individual on the day of the attack. Two more suspects were later arrested, but released without charges.

Awards
President Cyril Ramaphosa was honoured with leadership award President Cyril Ramaphosa has received a lifetime achievement award for leadership on 23 june 2017 after he addressed the Regenesys Business School in Sandton after receiving the award. Ramaphosa said humbled but surprised and used the ceremony to pay homage to his predecessors, such as Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo.