The Cabinet of South Africa is the most senior level of the
executive branch of the
Government of South Africa. It is made up of the president, the deputy president, and the ministers.[1]
Overview
The
president appoints the deputy president and ministers; assigns their powers and functions, and may dismiss them. The president may select any number of ministers from the members of the National Assembly, and may select no more than two ministers from outside the assembly. While deputy ministers are not members of the cabinet, they are required to assist relevant ministers in the execution of their duties.
A member of the Cabinet is appointed by the president to be the leader of government business in the National Assembly.[2]
Members of the 2024 cabinet of the Government of National Unity[3]
More than two weeks after being elected President of the 7th administration, President
Cyril Ramaphosa announced his cabinet on 30 June 2024. The delay in settling the cabinet followed the ANC securing only about 40% of the vote in the May national election. When announcing the cabinet President Ramaphosa stated, “In casting their votes, the people [of South Africa] made it clear that they expect political parties to work together to deliver on a mandate of transformation, growth, and renewal. To give effect to this mandate, it was agreed that a Government of National Unity, which brings together parties from across the political spectrum, should be formed.”
Deputy ministers are appointed by the president of South Africa. They are not members of the cabinet. They assist cabinet ministers in the execution of their duties. These are deputy ministers of South Africa at present:
The president may restructure cabinet at his discretion, meaning that ministerial portfolios may be changed or dissolved.[5] Defunct ministerial portfolios include:
In 1989,
Rina Venter became the first woman to hold a cabinet post in South African history.[10] Following the end of apartheid and the first multi-racial elections in 1994,
Nelson Mandela became the first black
president of South Africa and appointed a
Government of National Unity consisting of
African National Congress, National Party, and
Inkatha Freedom Party members. In 1996, the National Party withdrew from the GNU and the cabinet's composition has been dominated by ANC members since then. The Inkatha Freedom Party continued to hold seats in the government, as minority partners, until the
elections of 2004. In 2014,
Lynne Brown became the first openly
LGBT person to serve as a cabinet minister in South Africa and Africa.[11]
In 2019, President
Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the first gender-balanced cabinet in South African history.[12]
History
On 31 May 1910, former
Boer military general and the former prime minister of the
Transvaal ColonyLouis Botha became the first prime minister of the newly established
Union of South Africa—the forerunner of the modern South African state. He appointed the first cabinet of the Union of South Africa after the general election held on 15 September 1910. It consisted of members of the now-defunct
South African Party.[13] For the next fourteen years, it only consisted of members of the SAP. Botha died in 1919 and was replaced with another Boer general and SAP member,
Jan Smuts.[14]
In 1924,
J. B. M. Hertzog of the
National Party became prime minister through
a coalition with the
Labour Party and appointed
a cabinet that consisted of National Party and Labour Party members. In 1934, the Hertzog's National Party and the South African Party merged to form the
United Party.[15] Hertzog won the
1938 general election, but in 1939 the United Party was divided between supporters of Hertzog and those of his Justice Minister Jan Smuts because of the question of South Africa's role in the
Second World War. Hertzog was voted out in the United Party and resigned as prime minister, which allowed Jan Smuts to form a
government in coalition with the
Dominion Party and the Labour Party.[16] The
1948 general election was won outright by
D. F. Malan's
Herenigde Nasionale Party and Malan appointed
his first cabinet composed of National Party members. For the next forty-six years, South Africa would be governed by the National Party.
On 31 May 1961, South Africa became a republic and
Queen Elizabeth II was replaced as head of state with a
state president with largely ceremonial powers.[17] The Prime Minister was still head of government and appointed/dismissed members of the cabinet. In 1984, the constitution was amended and the office of prime minister was abolished while the office of state president was given more responsibilities. State president
P. W. Botha was now the head of state and head of government.[18] In the
1984 tricameral parliamentary elections,
Allan Hendrickse's
Labour Party won a majority of seats in the coloured
House of Representatives, while
Amichand Rajbansi's
National People's Party won a plurality of seats in the Indian
House of Delegates.[19] Hendrickse and Rajbansi were appointed to serve in Botha's second cabinet as Minister of Coloureds' Affairs and Minister of Indian Affairs, respectively, becoming the first non-white members of the South African cabinet.
^Generally the date of announcement of the appointment is given in the table as the start of the term of office; this is not technically correct. Legally the term of office is from the date that the relevant incumbent has been sworn in, not when the appointment is announced by the President. The term of office for incumbents listed in this table begins from the first date they were appointed to their respective positions. Legally, these terms were not continuous; for instance, terms would typically end upon or after an election, even if the incumbents were subsequently reappointed to the same office. This table presents the practical continuation in the same office for clarity. It does not reflect previous dates of appointment for incumbents who held different portfolios before, unless they are identical in name.