Madiba FINALLY gets his man: Cyril Ramaphosa sworn in as SA's president

Cyril Ramaphosa has become South Africa's new President 19 years after Nelson Mandela put him forward as his replacement. 

The multi-millionaire tycoon was voted into the post on Thursday after helping to force out predecessor and former boss Jacob Zuma amid a corruption probe.

Ramaphosa, Mandela's chief negotiator during the end of apartheid, was favoured by man nicknamed Madiba to replace him as head of the ANC and as President in 1999.

At Mandela's side when he was released from prison in 1990, Ramaphosa rose to world prominence and helped to write South Africa's constitution once white minority rule had ended.

But his hopes of winning the top job were dashed when Thabo Mbeki won leadership of the ANC ahead of him.

Cyril Ramaphosa was elected President of South Africa on Thursday at a special session of parliament in Cape Town a day after predecessor and former boss Jacob Zuma resigned

Ramaphosa was picked by Mandela (together in 1994) to replace him as head of the ANC and as President in 1999, but was snubbed as the part voted for Thabo Mbeki instead

Ramaphosa succeeds Jacob Zuma after leading a group of rebels in the African National Congress to push him from power after nine years

Ahead of his swearing in, Ramaphosa said he would work hard not to disappoint the people of South Africa, and said he was 'humbled' by the honour

The new President also said that tackling issues of corruption and state ownership were 'on my radar', after the scandals that dogged his predecessor

Cheering and dancing broke out in parliament after the speaker announced she had received a copy of Zuma's resignation letter following his nationally televised resignation on Wednesday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses Parliament for the first time

New dawn: Watch Cyril Ramaphosa deliver his maiden State of the Nation #SONA2018

THE FACT SHEET ON CYRIL RAMAPHOSA:

1. Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, a South African politician, businessman, activist, and trade union leader, served as Deputy President under President Jacob Zuma since 2014.

2. He was born in Soweto, Johannesburg, on November 17, 1952.

3. The business magnate studied law at the University of the North (Turfloop) in 1972.

4. Ramaphosa has received honorary doctorates from the University of Natal, the University of Port Elizabeth, the University of Cape Town, the University of the North, the National University of Lesotho, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Pennsylvania.

5. Ramaphosa is currently married to Tshepo Motsepe, the sister of billionaire and mining magnate Patrice Motsepe. 

6. He was elected general secretary of NUM (National Union of Mineworkers) in South Africa in 1982 was a major shareholder and a director at Lonmin. He became prominent in extra-parliamentary politics at thirties through his work in NUM and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). He was later elected secretary-general of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1991.

7. He chaired the Black Economic Empowerment Commission, which helped establish South Africa’s broad-based empowerment policies. He established the Shanduka Group in 2002, which he built into a leading black-owned and -managed diversified investment holding company. As a result of his appointment as Deputy President in 2014, Ramaphosa divested his stake in Shanduka. He sold his 30% shares in 2015.

8. Ramaphosa is the 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.

9. He was the joint non-executive chairman of Mondi plc and non-executive chairman of MTN Group Limited and SASRIA Limited. Ramaphosa was also the Non-executive director of SAB Miller plc, Lonmin plc, Macsteel Global BV, Alexander Forbes Equity Holdings Limited and The Standard Bank Group Limited. But left the companies when he chose to become Deputy President.

10. Ramaphosa has been reported to have been involved in the story of Sam Molope, a self-made millionaire who was the first Black man to own a bakery in 1978. He was involved in a bitter civil claim with Ramaphosa, who became the head of Molope Groups and subsequently sold the Group, according to Black opinion.

11. In 2011, Ramaphosa bought the McDonald’s food chain in South Africa and announced in 2016 that he sold it to MSA Holdings, a company based in the Emirates.

12. He was elected as President of the African National Congress at the ANC National Conference in Nasrec, in December 2017. 

13. Following the resignation of Zuma on the 14th of February, Ramaphosa in his capacity as the Deputy President became the acting president of South Africa. He was sworn in as President at 2pm today.