Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's former political and trade union activist was born in Johannesburg. He was one of the chief negotiators at the Codesa talks that opened the path for the first democratic elections on the 27th April 1994. After resigning from active politics, Ramaphosa ventured into the private sector. He then rejoined the political scene in 2012 during the African National Congress' National Conference in Mangaung, Free State. Here he became Deputy President of the ANC and in 2014 he was appointed to the position of Deputy President of South Africa by Jacob Zuma. He served as Deputy President until 2018 when President Zuma resigned. He was elected President of the ANC at its December 2017 conference. He had also served as the head of the National Planning Commission.
On the 22nd May 2019 he was elected to his first full term as President after an election victory by the ANC. He is the 5th democratically elected President after Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma.
Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.