The president of South Africa has appointed Roelf Meyer as the new ambassador to the United States
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Roelf Meyer, who served as the chief government negotiator during the negotiations to end white minority rule in the 1990s, as the next ambassador to the United States. “I can confirm that President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Mr. Roelf Meyer as South Africa’s Ambassador to the US,” said Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya in a statement to Reuters on Tuesday.
Meyer, who subsequently held a position in the unity government of Nelson Mandela, did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment.
Since the expulsion of Ebrahim Rasool in March 2025, South Africa has been without an ambassador in Washington, a situation that arose due to tensions with the Trump administration.
The relationship between Washington and Pretoria has experienced tension throughout President Donald Trump’s second term.
Trump has asserted untrue statements regarding the persecution of South Africa’s white Afrikaner minority and has established a refugee program for them, which Pretoria views as a preferential immigration scheme for whites.
Meyer, 78, identifies as Afrikaner. The seasoned politician commenced his journey as a parliamentarian in 1979 during the era of P.W. Botha, a symbol of white dominance amid the peak of the anti-apartheid movement. He subsequently held the positions of minister of defence and then minister of constitutional affairs under President F.W. de Klerk.
He rose to prominence as the chief negotiator for the National Party during discussions aimed at ending apartheid in 1993, the year prior to South Africa’s first democratic elections.
Ramaphosa served as the chief negotiator for the African National Congress, the liberation movement of that era, and both individuals were acknowledged for their efforts in resolving stalled negotiations.
Ramaphosa refers to him as a genuine citizen dedicated to a non-racial South Africa, as stated in a biography of Meyer on the South Africa’s presidency website.
