Cape Times

Tracking Cyril’s political career

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MATAMELA Cyril Ramaphosa was born in Johannesbu­rg on November 17, 1952. He grew up in Soweto.

In 1971 he matriculat­ed from Mphaphuli Secondary School in Sibasa, Limpopo.

In 1972 he registered at the University of the North (Turfloop) for a BProc degree.

He became involved in student politics and joined the South African Students’ Organisati­on (Saso) in 1972.

After the pro-Frelimo rally at the university in 1974, Ramaphosa was detained for 11 months under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act.

On his release he joined the Black People’s Convention (BPC).

After completing his articles, Ramaphosa joined the Council of Unions of South Africa (Cusa) as an adviser in the legal department.

In August 1982, Cusa resolved to form the National Union of Mineworker­s (NUM). In December that year Ramaphosa became its first secretary.

Ramaphosa was conference organiser in the preparatio­ns leading up to the formation of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). He delivered a keynote address at Cosatu’s launch rally in Durban in 1985.

In March 1986 he was part of Cosatu’s delegation which met the ANC in Lusaka, Zambia. In January 1990 Ramaphosa accompanie­d the released ANC political prisoners to Lusaka.

Ramaphosa served as chairperso­n of the national reception committee, which co-ordinated arrangemen­ts for the release of Nelson Mandela and the subsequent welcome rallies in South Africa.

He also became a member of the Internatio­nal Mandela Reception Committee. He was elected secretary-general of the ANC at a Durban conference in July 1991.

In his capacity as secretary-general he became head of the negotiatio­ns commission of the ANC and participat­ed in the Conference for a Democratic SA (Codesa).

In May 1994 he was elected chairperso­n of the Constituti­onal Assembly, a position from which he resigned in May 1996, together with that of ANC secretary-general.

President Jacob Zuma appointed Ramaphosa as deputy president in 2014, after he was elected deputy president of the ANC in 2012.

Ramaphosa is married to Dr Tshepo Motsepe and has four children. Source: SA History Online http://www.sahistory. org.za/people/cyril-matamela-ramaphosa – Staff Writer

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CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

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