President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Roelf Meyer as South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, filling a post that has sat empty for more than a year. Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed the appointment on Tuesday.
Why it matters: South Africa has been without representation in Washington since March 2025, a period in which the bilateral relationship has deteriorated to its lowest point since the end of apartheid. Last week, the US refused to accredit South Africa’s delegation for the G20 finance meetings.
Who is Roelf Meyer
Meyer, 78, served as Minister of Defence and later Minister of Constitutional Affairs under the last apartheid-era government. He was the National Party’s chief negotiator at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), where he worked opposite the ANC’s Cyril Ramaphosa to broker the transition to democracy.
After 1994, Meyer left party politics and founded the Institute for Democracy in Africa. He has spent three decades working on conflict resolution across the continent. His reputation as a bridge-builder across racial and political lines made him a consensus choice for a post that requires navigating a hostile Washington.
Why the post was vacant
Former ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was declared persona non grata by the Trump administration in 2025 after he made critical remarks about US politics during a webinar. The expulsion was widely seen as disproportionate and damaged relations further.
The vacancy left South Africa without a senior diplomatic voice in Washington during a period of escalating tension. The US has accused South Africa of persecuting white Afrikaner farmers, a claim Ramaphosa has called disinformation. US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III told South Africa in March that Washington was “running out of patience.”
Meyer’s appointment does not resolve any of the underlying disputes. But it places an experienced negotiator in the room at a time when both countries need one.