South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed veteran politician Roelf Meyer as the country’s ambassador to the United States, a year after the post remained vacant amid difficult relations with Donald Trump’s administration in Washington.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vicente Magwenya announced the appointment in a message to the Associated Press and other news outlets.
“I can confirm that President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Mr. Rolf Meyer as South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States,” he said, effective immediately.
Who is Roelf Meyer?
Roelf Meyer was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1997 and Minister of Defense from 1991 to 1992 under the white minority government of former President FW de Klerk’s National Party.
He later was the chief negotiator in the talks that ended apartheid and in 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected as the first black leader of South Africa.
Meyer served as Minister of Constitutional Development in Mandela’s first unity government cabinet from 1994 to 1996.
He later founded the United Democratic Movement, a centre-left party that still exists in South Africa but holds a paltry three of the 400 seats in the National Assembly. The mayor is no longer a member.
Why are relations tense between America and South Africa?
US President Donald Trump has criticized South Africa’s ANC-led government and has cut off all financial aid to the country. Accusing the government of allowing “white genocide” against the minority African group, he criticized Ramaphosa on the issue in front of reporters at the White House during a visit to the US in 2025.
The US also provided a special immigration and asylum process to Africans who felt persecuted in South Africa.
The mayor’s predecessor Ibrahim Rasool was expelled in May last year after criticizing the Trump administration and its handling of South Africa, saying he was trying to “present white victims as dog whistles”.
These comments prompted some criticism in South Africa for violating diplomatic norms, although they were somewhat surprising coming from a diplomat who was classified as “coloured” under apartheid rule.
Mayer’s appointment comes shortly after Ramaphosa accepted conservative activist Leo Brent Bozell III as the new US ambassador to South Africa.
The two countries are also at odds over South Africa’s decision to file a case in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Trump boycotted the G20 leaders’ summit hosted by South Africa in 2025 and has not invited South Africa to the US-hosted G20 meetings in Miami in December.
Additionally, South Africa’s wealthiest and most famous white expatriate, Elon Musk, has long been a staunch critic of the government in his native country. This criticism has increased in recent days, as Musk is frustrated by barriers to access to his Starlink company, which he claims are racially motivated.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru