President of South Africa

The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force. Between 1961 and 1994, the office of head of state was the state presidency.

The president is elected by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, and is usually the leader of the largest party, which has been the African National Congress since the first multiracial election was held on 27 April 1994. The Constitution limits the president's time in office to two five-year terms. The first president to be elected under the new constitution was Nelson Mandela. The incumbent is Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected by the National Assembly on 15 February 2018 following the resignation of Jacob Zuma.

Under the interim constitution (valid from 1994 to 1996), there was a Government of National Unity, in which a member of Parliament (MP) from the largest opposition party was entitled to a position as deputy president. Along with Thabo Mbeki, the last apartheid president, F. W. de Klerk also served as deputy president, in his capacity as the leader of the National Party which was the second-largest party in the new Parliament. But De Klerk later resigned and went into opposition with his party. A voluntary coalition government continues to exist under the new constitution (adopted in 1996), although there have been no appointments of opposition politicians to the post of deputy president since.

The president is required to be a member of the National Assembly at the time of the election. Upon election, the president immediately resigns their seat for the duration of the presidential term. The president may be removed either by a motion of no-confidence or an impeachment trial.

A number of manifestations of the office of president have existed. Aspects of these offices exist within the presidency today. The executive leadership of the British colonies of Natal and the Cape of Good Hope were vested in their governors. Likewise, it was invested in the presidents of the Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Alternating sovereignty as a result of wars culminated in the Treaty of Vereeniging which concluded the South African War.

The Union of South Africa, a British Dominion, was established on 31 May 1910 with the British monarch as titular head of state, represented by a viceroy, the governor-general.

Following the 1960 referendum and subsequent declaration of the Republic of South Africa on 31 May 1961, the office of State President was created. It was originally a ceremonial post, but became an executive post in 1984 when a new constitution abolished the post of Prime Minister and transferred its powers to the state president. The country ended minority rule in 1994. The office of the president, and the roles that come with it, were established by chapter five of the Constitution of South Africa.

South Africa has a distinctive system for the election of its president. Unlike other former British colonies and dominions who have adopted a parliamentary republican form of government and those that follow the Westminster system, South Africa's president is both head of state and head of government and commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). Contrary to presidential systems around the world, the president of South Africa is elected by the Parliament of South Africa rather than by the people directly. They are thus answerable to it in theory and able to influence legislation in practice as head of the majority party.