South Africa Appoints Former Apartheid-Era Politician as Ambassador to the US

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Roelf Meyer, a former senior figure in the apartheid-era government, as the country’s new ambassador to the United States.

The appointment, confirmed by presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, takes immediate effect and comes at a time of strained diplomatic relations between the two nations.

South Africa has been without a top envoy in Washington since the expulsion of Ebrahim Rasool last year. His removal followed remarks accusing U.S. President Donald Trump of attempting to “project white victimhood as a dog whistle,” further deepening tensions.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since Trump’s return to office, with disagreements over domestic and international issues contributing to the diplomatic rift.

Meyer, 78, is best known for his role in the negotiations that led to the end of Apartheid in the early 1990s. As a senior member of the National Party, which had implemented apartheid, he served as one of the chief negotiators alongside Ramaphosa, who represented the African National Congress under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.

Meyer later served as minister of constitutional affairs in the final apartheid government and went on to join the Government of National Unity formed after South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. He left government in 1996 and later co-founded the United Democratic Movement before eventually joining the ANC.

A white Afrikaner, Meyer was regarded as a reformist within the National Party, though his role in dismantling apartheid led to criticism from some conservative factions within the Afrikaner community.

The appointment also comes amid controversy surrounding claims by Trump that Afrikaners are facing persecution in South Africa—allegations widely dismissed by the South African government. Ramaphosa has rejected such assertions, stating it is “completely false” that any racial or cultural group is being systematically targeted.