A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency. A unity government according to the principles of consensus democracy lacks opposition, or opposition parties are too small and negligible.
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is a centre-left, social-democratic, South African political party, formed by a prominent former National Party leader, Roelf Meyer, a former African National Congress and Transkei homeland leader, General Bantu Holomisa, and a former ANC Executive Committee member, John Taylor. It has an anti-separatist, pro-diversity platform; and supports an individualist South Africa with a strong moral sense, in both social and economic senses.
Patricia de Lille is a South African politician who is the current Minister of Tourism and leader of the political party Good. She served as Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure from 2019 to 2023.
The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation system where half of the members are elected proportionally from nine provincial lists and the remaining half from national lists so as to restore proportionality.
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.
South Africa since 1994 transitioned from the system of apartheid to one of majority rule. The election of 1994 resulted in a change in government with the African National Congress (ANC) coming to power. The ANC retained power after subsequent elections in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. Children born during this period are known as the born-free generation, and those aged eighteen or older, were able to vote for the first time in 2014.
Matsie Angelina "Angie" Motshekga is a South African politician and educator who is currently serving as the Minister of Defense and Military Veterans since 3 July 2024. She served as the acting president of the Republic of South Africa from the 17th August 2024, while President Cyril Ramaphosa attended the 44th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community in Harare, Zimbabwe. Motshekga also served as the Minister of Basic Education from May 2009 to 2024. She was previously a Member of the Executive Council in the Gauteng provincial government. Motshekga is a member of the African National Congress. She is a former president of the party's women's league.
John Henry Steenhuisen is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister of Agriculture since July 2024. He has been the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) since November 2020, having served as the interim leader for one year from November 2019. He served as the twentieth leader of the Opposition from October 2019 to June 2024. Pursuant to the 2024 South African general election, he was appointed to the third cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa when the DA joined the Government of National Unity (GNU).
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Mondli Gungubele is a South African politician and trade unionist who is the current Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and a member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the African National Congress. He previously served as Executive Mayor of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (2010–2016), as Deputy Minister of Finance (2018–2019), as Chairperson of the Social Development Committee (2019–2021) and as Minister in the Presidency (2021–2023).
The Second Cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa was the cabinet of the government of South Africa between 29 May 2019 and 19 June 2024. It was formed by President Ramaphosa after the 2019 general election and dissolved after the 2024 general election. In the interim it was reshuffled twice – once in August 2021 and once in March 2023 – and augmented in size from 28 ministers to 30 ministers.
Ronald Ozzy Lamola is a South African lawyer and politician who is the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 22 May 2019 as a member of the African National Congress (ANC). He was Minister of Justice and Correctional Services from May 2019 to June 2024. He is a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee and National Working Committee. Lamola had previously been involved in the African National Congress Youth League.
General elections were held in South Africa on 29 May 2024 to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each of the nine provinces. This was the 7th general election held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994. The new National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will be elected at the first sitting of each provincial legislature.
Siviwe Gwarube is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister of Basic Education in the Government of National Unity (GNU) since July 2024. A member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), she was the Chief Whip of the Official Opposition between August 2022 and June 2024. She joined the National Assembly of South Africa in the May 2019 general election.
Leon Amos Schreiber is a South African writer and politician who is currently serving as Minister of Home Affairs since 3 July 2024. A member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), he has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since May 2019.
Mzwanele Nyhontso is a South African politician who is the president of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, and a member of the National Assembly of South Africa. Since July 2024 he is the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development in the cabinet of the country's Government of National Unity.
The United Africans Transformation (UAT) is a minor political party in South Africa. It was founded in November 2022 by a group of individuals who broke away from the African National Congress (ANC). The UATP is centered around Africanism, pan-Africanism, and socialism. On 30 June 2024 president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the UAT joined the government of national unity (GNU), having signed the GNU statement of intent. On 12 July 2024 the UAT withdrew from the GNU after it did not receive any positions in the Cabinet.
The 2024 Gauteng provincial election was held on 29 May 2024, concurrently with the 2024 South African general election, to elect the 73 members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
The Progressive Caucus is a political alliance in the Parliament of South Africa, which formed in opposition to the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Lehlohonolo Wonderboy Mahlatsi is a South African politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of South Africa since being elected in 2024. He is the leader of the United Africans Transformation, and sits in the South African parliament as part of the Progressive Caucus in opposition to the Government of National Unity.
