Wikipedia (en)
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African politician, businessman, activist, and trade union leader who has served as the Deputy President of South Africa under President Jacob Zuma since 2014. He was elected as President of the African National Congress (ANC) at the ANC National Conference in Nasrec, South of Johannesburg in December 2017. He is also the Chairman of the National Planning Commission, which is responsible for strategic planning for the future of South Africa, with the goal of rallying the nation "around a common set of objectives and priorities to drive development over the longer term".
He is respected as a skillful negotiator and strategist who acted as the ANC's Chief Negotiator during South Africa's transition to democracy. Ramaphosa built up the biggest and most powerful trade union in South Africa—the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). He played a crucial role, with Roelf Meyer of the National Party, during the negotiations to bring about a peaceful end to apartheid and steer the country towards it's first fully democratic elections in April 1994. Ramaphosa was Nelson Mandela’s choice for future president. Today, Cyril Ramaphosa is well known as a prominent businessman and has an estimated net worth of over $450,000,000 with 31 properties and previously held notable ownership in companies such as McDonald's South Africa, chairperson of board for MTN and member of the board for Lonmin.
In spite of his credentials as an important proponent of South Africa's peaceful transition to democracy, he has also been widely criticised for the conduct of his business interests although he has never been indicted for illegal activity in any of these controversies. Controversial business dealings include acting as Chairperson for the MTN Group during the MTN Irancell scandal when that organisation bribed officials in Iran; his joint venture with Glencore and allegations of benefitting illegally from coal deals with Eskom which he has staunchly denied, during which Glencore was in the public spotlight for its tendentious business activities involving Tony Blair in the Middle East; and his employment on the board of directors of Lonmin while taking an active stance when the Marikana Massacre took place on Lonmin's Marikana premises. On 15 August 2012 he called for action against the Marikana miners' strike, which he called "dastardly criminal" conduct. He also admitted and regretted later for his involvement in the act and it could have been avoided if contingency plans had been made prior to the labour strike.
