Deputy President of South Africa

Last updated

Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa
10 other official names
  • Adjunkpresident van Suid-Afrika (Afrikaans)
  • iSekela likaMengameli weSewula Afrika (Southern Ndebele)
  • uSekela-Mongameli waseMzantsi Afrika (Xhosa)
  • iPhini likaMengameli waseNingizimu Afrika (Zulu)
  • liSekela laMengameli weleNingizimu Afrika (Swazi)
  • Motlatšamoporesitente wa Afrika Borwa (Northern Sotho)
  • Motlatsi wa Mopresidente wa Afrika Borwa (Sotho)
  • Motlatsamoporesitente wa Aforika Borwa (Tswana)
  • Xandla Xa Puresidente wa Afrika-Dzonga (Tsonga)
  • Muthusa Phresidennde wa Afrika Tshipembe (Venda)
David Lammy with Paul Mashatile (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Paul Mashatile
since 7 March 2023
Style Mr. Deputy President
(informal)
His Excellency
(formal, diplomatic)
TypeDeputy to the
Head of State and Head of Government
AbbreviationDP
Member of Cabinet
National Assembly
Reports toThe President
Residence Oliver Tambo House
(Pretoria)
Highstead
(Cape Town)
Dr. John L. Dube House
(Durban)
Appointer President
Term length No term limit
Inaugural holder F. W. De Klerk
Thabo Mbeki
Formation10 May 1994;30 years ago (1994-05-10)
SalaryR3 million
Website www.thepresidency.gov.za

The deputy presidentof South Africa is the second highest ranking officer of the executive branch of the Government of South Africa. The deputy president is a member of the National Assembly and the Cabinet.

Contents

The deputy president is constitutionally required to "assist the president in the execution of the functions of government", and may be assigned any government portfolio by presidential proclamation.

The deputy president performs the duties of the president when the president is outside the country's borders, unable to fulfill the duties of the office, or when the presidency is vacant.

The deputy president is generally appointed as the leader of government business in the Parliament of South Africa by the president.

Under the interim constitution (valid from 1994 to 1996), there was a Government of National Unity, in which a member of parliament from the largest opposition party was entitled to a position as deputy president. Along with Mbeki, the previous state president, F. W. de Klerk, also served as deputy president in his capacity as the leader of the National Party, then the second-largest party in the new parliament. 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.

The official living residences of the deputy president are Oliver Tambo House in Pretoria, Highstead, in Cape Town and Dr John L Dube House in Durban.

Inception and expiry of term

The deputy president's term of office is not fixed by law. The deputy president's term begins upon appointment by the president. The deputy president must be selected from the members of the National Assembly and takes a prescribed oath.

The deputy president's term is ended by one of four constitutional mechanisms: dismissal by the president, a successful 'motion of no confidence in the president' by the National Assembly, a successful 'motion of no confidence excluding the president' by the National Assembly, or a newly elected president's assumption of office. A statement of resignation can also end a deputy president's term of office.

Informal roles

Depending on the extent of any informal roles and functions of the deputy president depend on the specific relationship between the president and deputy president, but often the roles include tasks like:

Deputy presidents of South Africa (1994–present)

Parties

   National Party
   African National Congress

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePresidentPolitical party
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Frederik Willem de Klerk, 1990.jpg F. W. de Klerk
(1936–2021)
10 May 199430 June 1996
(resigned)
2 years, 51 days Nelson Mandela National Party
2 SthAfrica.ThaboMbeki.01 (cropped2).jpg Thabo Mbeki
(born 1942)
10 May 199414 June 1999
(became president)
5 years, 35 days African National Congress
3 Jacob G. Zuma - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2010.jpg Jacob Zuma
(born 1942)
14 June 199914 June 2005
(dismissed but became president on 9 May 2009)
6 years, 0 days Thabo Mbeki
4 Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka 2014.jpg Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
(born 1955)
14 June 200523 September 2008
(resigned)
3 years, 101 days
5 Baleka Mbete.jpg Baleka Mbete
(born 1949)
25 September 20089 May 2009
(term ended)
226 days Kgalema Motlanthe
6 Kgalema Motlanthe, 2009 World Economic Forum on Africa-1 (cropped).jpg Kgalema Motlanthe
(born 1949)
9 May 200926 May 2014
(term ended)
5 years, 17 days Jacob Zuma
7 Cyril Ramaphosa - President of South Africa - 2018 (cropped).jpg Cyril Ramaphosa
(born 1952)
26 May 201415 February 2018
(became president) [1]
3 years, 265 days
8 David D Mabuza, 18 ago. 2022 (cropped).jpg David Mabuza
(born 1960)
27 February 201828 February 2023
(resigned) [2]
5 years, 1 day Cyril Ramaphosa
9 David Lammy with Paul Mashatile (cropped).jpg Paul Mashatile
(born 1961)
7 March 2023Incumbent1 year, 264 days

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime minister</span> Top minister of cabinet and government

A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rather the head of government, serving as the chief of the executive under either a monarch or a president in a republican form of government.

A motion or vote of no confidence is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly as to whether an officer is deemed fit to continue to occupy their office. The no-confidence vote is a defining constitutional element of a parliamentary system, in which the executive's mandate rests upon the continued support of the majority in the legislature. Systems differ in whether such a motion may be directed against the prime minister, against individual cabinet ministers, against the cabinet as a whole, or some combination of the above.

The constructive vote of no confidence is a variation on the motion of no confidence that allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a head of government only if there is a positive majority for a prospective successor. The principle is intended to ensure governments' stability by making sure that a replacement has enough parliamentary support to govern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Romania</span> Head of government of Romania

The prime minister of Romania, officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania, is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers, when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called the Council of Ministers. The title was officially changed to Prime Minister by the 1965 Constitution of Romania during the communist regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly (France)</span> Lower house of the French Parliament

The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate. The National Assembly's legislators are known as députés, meaning "delegate" or "envoy" in English; etymologically, it is a cognate of the English word deputy, the standard term for legislators in many parliamentary systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of South Africa</span> Head of state and government 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Mauritius</span> Head of state of Mauritius

The President of the Republic of Mauritius is the head of state of the Republic of Mauritius. Mauritius is a parliamentary republic, and the president functions as a ceremonial figurehead, elected by the National Assembly as set out by the Constitution of Mauritius. The current office-holder is Prithvirajsing Roopun. He took the office on 2 December 2019. The president's official residence is the State House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly (Serbia)</span> Unicameral legislature of Serbia

The National Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are proportionally elected to four-year terms by secret ballot. The assembly elects a president (speaker) who presides over the sessions.

The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the simultaneous termination of service of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assembly is chosen by a general election. Dissolution is distinct on the one hand from abolition of the assembly, and on the other hand from its adjournment or prorogation, or the ending of a legislative session, any of which begins a period of inactivity after which it is anticipated that the same members will reassemble. For example, the "second session of the fifth parliament" could be followed by the "third session of the fifth parliament" after a prorogation, but would be followed by the "first session of the sixth parliament" after a dissolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Council of Provinces</span> Upper house of the Parliament of South Africa

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to many other upper houses of legislatures throughout the world, in that its purpose is to represent the governments of the provinces, rather than directly representing the people.

The Cabinet of South Africa is the most senior level of the executive branch of the Government of South Africa. It is made up of the president, the deputy president, and the ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Mauritius</span> Head of government of Mauritius

The prime minister of Mauritius is the head of government of Mauritius. He presides over the Cabinet of Ministers, which advises the president of the country and is collectively responsible to the National Assembly for any advice given and for all action done by or under the authority of any minister in the execution of his office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellenic Parliament</span> Unicameral legislative body of Greece

The Parliament of the Hellenes, commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic institution that represents the citizens through an elected body of Members of Parliament (MPs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Cambodia</span> Head of government of Cambodia

The prime minister of Cambodia is the head of government of Cambodia. The prime minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet and leads the executive branch of the Royal Government of Cambodia. The prime minister is a member of parliament, and is appointed by the monarch for a term of five years. Since 1945, 37 individuals have served as prime minister; 33 as official prime ministers, and 4 in acting capacities. The current prime minister since 2023 is Hun Manet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly (Mauritius)</span> Parliament of Mauritius

The National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral legislature, which was called the Legislative Assembly from 1968 until 1992, when the country became a republic. Prior to 1968 and under British rule it was known as the Legislative Council. The Constitution of Mauritius provides for the parliament of Mauritius to consist of the President and the National Assembly. The parliament of Mauritius is modelled after the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, where members of parliament are voted in at regular general elections, on the basis of a first past the post system. The working language of the National Assembly is English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Cape Provincial Parliament</span> Legislature of the Western Cape Province in South Africa

The Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located at 7 Wale Street in Cape Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Kenya</span> National legislative, executive and judiciary powers of Kenya

The Government of the Republic of Kenya (GoK) is the national government of the Republic of Kenya located in East Africa. It is composed of 47 Counties, each county with its own semi-autonomous governments, including the national capital of Nairobi, where the national government is primarily based.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader of the Opposition (Mauritius)</span>

The Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of Mauritius is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in Mauritius. The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Nelson Mandela</span> 1994–1999 government of South Africa

Nelson Mandela took the oath as President of South Africa on 10 May 1994 and announced a Government of National Unity on 11 May 1994. The cabinet included members of Mandela's African National Congress, the National Party and Inkatha Freedom Party, as Clause 88 of the Interim Constitution of South Africa required that all parties winning more than 20 seats in National Assembly should be given representation in the cabinet. Upon its formation it comprised 27 ministers, with a further 13 deputy ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No-confidence motion against Imran Khan</span> 2022 removal of Pakistani prime minister

In April 2022, a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan led to his removal as the prime minister of Pakistan. Based largely on the Westminster system of legislature, the prime minister commands confidence of the majority of the lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly of Pakistan, under clause (2A) of Article 91 of the Constitution. Numerous opposition parties joined forces to file the motion of no confidence against Imran Khan in the National Assembly. It ultimately led to the removal of Khan from office as a majority passed the motion in the Lower House.

References

  1. "I, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, swear that I will be faithful to the Republic of South Africa, as it happened". News24. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  2. "THE SHUFFLE: Outgoing Deputy President David Mabuza the latest ANC member to resign from Parliament". March 2023.