{"id":215010,"date":"2020-07-18T05:16:40","date_gmt":"2020-07-18T04:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/?p=215010"},"modified":"2023-01-29T12:27:42","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T11:27:42","slug":"20-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-cyril-ramaphosa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/20-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-cyril-ramaphosa\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Cyril Ramaphosa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cyril Ramaphosa is a South African politician who is best known as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Additionally, he is a businessman, former trade union leader and anti-apartheid activist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With there being concrete evidence of success in whatever he has had his hands in, it was a no brainer that South Africans opted to elect Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s fifth president. It has even been said that the smart, silver-tongued, and passionate politician was Nelson Mandela’s choice to become South African president many years ago.<\/p>\n

Ramaphosa has since gotten the opportunity to serve his people and going by media reports, the rising stock market, government bonds increasing in strength, and the rand reaching its firmest since early 2015 the day after he assumed the presidency, the country looks to be heading back to its glory days. So much has since been written and said about the SA leader but there are a few things about him that may come as a surprise to you.<\/p>\n

1. Cyril Ramaphosa’s Father was a Policeman<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cyril Ramaphosa, who was born on 17 November 1952 in Soweto, Johannesburg, is the son of Erdmuth and Samuel Ramaphosa. His father Samuel was a retired policeman who had worked for the apartheid South African government at the time when it was intensifying its policy of racial segregation.<\/p>\n

His Venda<\/a> parents raised him alongside his two siblings in Soweto, a township created in the 1930s when the White government of the country started separating Blacks from Whites. As a result, anti-apartheid activities originated in townships like these ones across South Africa, and most black children growing up at the time where involved in such activities.<\/p>\n

2. He was Detained in Solitary Confinement for Eleven Months for His Involvement in Student Politics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ramaphosa first attended Tshilidzi Primary School and then Sekano-Ntoane High School. He ended up matriculating from Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, Venda, what is modern-day Limpopo, in 1971. While at Mphaphuli, he was elected head of the Student Christian Movement.<\/p>\n

Cyril subsequently enrolled to study law at the University of the North (Turfloop) in Limpopo Province. At university, he became involved in student politics by joining both the South African Students Organisation (SASO)<\/a> and the Black People’s Convention (BPC)<\/a>. His activities with these groups led to his arrest and detention in solitary confinement for an eleven-month period in 1974 under the Terrorism Act.<\/p>\n

Two years later, he was again arrested and detained for six months at John Vorster Square following the 1976 uprising of students in the Soweto township.<\/p>\n

3. He Played a Key Role in the Formation of a Mineworkers Union<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Cyril<\/a>
A Young Ramaphosa and other Trade Union Members<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After regaining his freedom, Cyril Ramaphosa took a job as a law clerk for a Johannesburg firm of attorneys. While working there, he continued with his legal studies through correspondence with the University of South Africa (UNISA), and by 1981 he had completed the requirements to be awarded a B. Proc. Degree.<\/p>\n

Ramaphosa’s next move after completing his legal qualifications was to join the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA), which is today known as the National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU), as an advisor in the legal department. In 1982, CUSA launched a union for mineworkers named the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Ramaphosa was named as its first secretary. Under his leadership, NUM membership grew from 6,000 in 1982 to 300,000 in 1992. This gave it control of nearly half of the total black workforce in the South African mining industry and so he and other leaders of NUM were able to lead mineworkers to one of the biggest strikes ever in South African history.<\/p>\n

4. He was Among Those That Received Nelson Mandela After His Release From Prison<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cyril Ramaphosa’s work with the National Union of Mineworkers did not go unnoticed and so he was appointed to serve as chairman of the National Reception Committee that co-ordinated arrangements for the release of Nelson Mandela. The committee further organized and co-ordinated subsequent welcome rallies within South Africa as Ramaphosa also became a member of the international Mandela Reception Committee.<\/p>\n

5. Ramaphosa Has Received Wide Recognition for His Fight Against Apartheid<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the late 1980s, after NUM broke away from CUSA and helped to establish the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Cyril Ramaphosa took a leading role in what became known as the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM), a coalition between COSATU and the United Democratic Front (UDF), a political movement that was against the National Party government of P. W. Botha.<\/p>\n

Ramaphosa’s role in the fight against apartheid endeared him to many people, both in his home country and beyond. In October 1991, after his fight and that of many other anti-apartheid activists resulted in the South African government unbanning all the organizations it had deemed to be illegal in the country, the trade union leader was invited to serve as a visiting Professor of Law at Stanford University in the United States. A few years before that, in 1987, he was awarded the Olof Palme prize in Stockholm, Sweden.<\/p>\n

\"Cyril<\/a>
Mandela and a young Ramaphosa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

6. He has Honorary Doctorates From Various Universities Around the World<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ramaphosa has received honorary doctorates from many South African institutions and others around the world. South African universities like the University of Natal, the University of Port Elizabeth, the University of Cape Town, and the University of the North have all awarded him doctorate degrees.<\/p>\n

Internationally, he has received doctorates from the National University of Lesotho, National University of Ireland Galway, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

7. He is a Former Secretary-General of the African National Congress<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Following a conference held in Durban in July 1991 by the African National Congress, Cyril Ramaphosa was elected Secretary-General of the party. He succeeded Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzon who was the longest-standing Secretary-General of the ANC. In this role, Ramaphosa led the negotiation team of the ANC in negotiating the end of apartheid with the National Party government.<\/p>\n

After the democratic elections in 1994 that saw Nelson Mandela elected as president, Ramaphosa became a member of parliament. He was subsequently elected chairperson of its Constitutional Assembly where he again played a pivotal role in the government of national unity. He later vacated the Secretary-General position in 1997 and was succeeded by Kgalema Motlanthe.<\/p>\n

8. Ramaphosa First Tried To Become President of South Africa in 1997<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the main reasons why Cyril Ramaphosa vacated his position as Secretary-General of the ANC and resigned from politics, in general, was because he lost the ANC Presidential elections to Thabo Mbeki which would have made him the de-facto choice to become president of South Africa in 1997.<\/p>\n

It is said that Mandela had wanted Ramaphosa to become president, however, long-serving ANC president, Oliver Tambo, had groomed Mbeki in exile to be the heir to the throne and the ANC wanted him instead of the trade union leader and political negotiator. As a result of this, Ramaphosa withdrew from active politics and started building his business empire.<\/p>\n

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Sending well wishes to President Mbeki on the occasion of his 78th Birthday. Your lifelong contribution and unwavering commitment to prospering our country and realising the Africa we want, is a legacy that will endure forever. We thank you for your leadership. pic.twitter.com\/9KToYcTGhX<\/a><\/p>\n

— Cyril Ramaphosa \ud83c\uddff\ud83c\udde6 (@CyrilRamaphosa) June 18, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n