---
title: "Ramaphosa chooses Roelf Meyer as SA’s next ambassador to US"
description: "South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has chosen Roelf Meyer, a chief negotiator during the talks to end white minority rule in the 1990s, to be his country's next ambassador to the United States."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "SA-US RELATIONS"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-14-south-african-president-chooses-roelf-meyer-as-next-ambassador-to-us/"
published: "2026-04-14T21:06:28"
updated: "2026-04-15T15:39:41"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 231
---

# Ramaphosa chooses Roelf Meyer as SA’s next ambassador to US

> South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has chosen Roelf Meyer, a chief negotiator during the talks to end white minority rule in the 1990s, to be his country's next ambassador to the United States.

By Reuters · Published 14 April 2026, 23:06 SAST · Updated 15 April 2026, 17:39 SAST

## Content

“I can confirm that President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Mr [Roelf Meyer](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-28-internal-strife-threatens-government-of-national-unity-lessons-from-the-past/) as South Africa’s Ambassador to the US,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Reuters on Tuesday.

South Africa has not had an ambassador in Washington since its last one, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled last year after angering the Trump administration.

[Read more

Ramaphosa has an ambassador to the US, but mum’s the word

April 13, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/1HdQQ-WYl5O9ZLd8lZY_7JucQXg=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/2984/tim-atb_159036_47cd87f3d50f751014aaf5d95442e1cf.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-13-ramaphosa-has-an-ambassador-to-the-us-but-mums-the-word/)

Meyer, 78, was the chief representative of the white minority National Party government during the 1993 talks to end apartheid. Ramaphosa was the chief negotiator for the African National Congress, the liberation movement at the time.

![Paul Mashatile (deputy president) Cyril Ramaphosa (President ) and Roelf Meyer (Former Minister of Defence and Military Veterans) during day 1 of the First National Convention of the National Dialogue of South Africa at UNISA, Pretoria Main Campus on August 15, 2025. The first national convention is a precursor to the National Dialogue and it aims to identify South Africa's most pressing challenges. (Photo: Gallo Images / Lefty Shivambu)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/LkK6F_QSt2-K_H84c2ekSX0MY98=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ED_569120.jpg)

*Paul Mashatile (deputy president) Cyril Ramaphosa (President ) and Roelf Meyer (Former Minister of Defence and Military Veterans) during day 1 of the First National Convention of the National Dialogue of South Africa at UNISA, Pretoria Main Campus on August 15, 2025. The first national convention is a precursor to the National Dialogue and it aims to identify South Africa's most pressing challenges. (Photo: Gallo Images / Lefty Shivambu)*

![Former South African politician, Cabinet Minister of the National Party and negotiator in the transition to democracy,  Roelf Meyer.](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/kaNVexN4iFpCALAqF0SQeiuRZ3Q=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/000018320.jpg)

*Roelf Meyer, former South African politician and Cabinet Minister of the National Party who acted as negotiator in the transition to South Africa’s democracy. (Photo: Supplied)*

Meyer later served as a minister in the multi-party government led by Nelson Mandela. **DM**

(By Nellie Peyton; additional reporting by Nilutpal Timsina and Tim Cocks; editing by Alexander Winning and Tim Cocks)