Pretoria (TDI): South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Roelf Meyer, a former chief negotiator from the apartheid-era government, as its new ambassador to the United States, on Wednesday.
Meyer replaces Ebrahim Rasool, who was expelled by the United States in March 2025 after criticizing the Trump administration.
Meyer served as a reformist minister in the last apartheid government. He played a central role as chief negotiator in the talks that ended white minority rule in the 1990s, working closely with Cyril Ramaphosa, who represented the African National Congress.
Meyer served as constitutional development minister in Nelson Mandela’s first government of national unity from 1994 to 1996. He later co-founded the United Democratic Movement before joining the African National Congress in 2006.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, confirmed the appointment is effective immediately, pending completion of administrative protocols in Washington.
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The appointment is viewed as an attempt to improve deeply strained relations with the United States. President Donald Trump has accused South Africa of racial discrimination against white Afrikaners and made false claims of “white genocide.”
The last ambassador was declared persona non grata after describing Trump’s movement as a “supremacist” response to demographic changes. Meyer, an Afrikaner, is regarded as a figure who can help stabilize bilateral relations.
Mixed Reactions: The appointment has drawn mixed reactions. The African National Congress welcomed the choice, while the Economic Freedom Fighters called it politically tone deaf.
Right-wing Afrikaner groups AfriForum and Solidarity criticized the selection, citing Meyer’s age and past political shift.
Meyer, aged 78, had previously said the ambassador role required youthful energy but has now accepted the position.
The appointment comes at a time when South Africa seeks to restore diplomatic engagement with the United States amid ongoing tensions over land reform and South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice against Israel.
Muhammad Usman Hashmi is a researcher in International Relations, focusing on climate diplomacy, global governance, and political economy in the Global South. He has contributed to policy dialogues with the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia and serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the International Council on Human Rights, Peace and Politics. He is also associated with Rethinking Economics Islamabad, contributing to research on development and sustainability.
