Ramaphosa names Roelf Meyer as next SA ambassador to the US

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has named veteran political negotiator Roelf Meyer as the country’s next US envoy or SA ambassador to the US.

Presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya wasn’t immediately available to comment. But, the move was confirmed by the SABC’s New York correspondent Sherwin Bryce-Pease, who got confirmation from the Presidency.

Roelf Meyer is the new SA Ambassador to USA, SA Presidency confirms to SABC News#sabcnews

— Sherwin Bryce-Pease (@sherwiebp) April 14, 2026

Meyer said he had no knowledge of the appointment, when Bloomberg contacted him by phone on Tuesday.

This as Pretoria seeks to steady relations with Washington after a turbulent year.

Meyer, 78, had been tipped to replace Ebrahim Rasool as ambassador earlier in the day, according to people who asked not to be identified as the information was not yet public.

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Meyer, a white Afrikaner who served as constitutional affairs minister during the apartheid era, is widely regarded as one of the architects of South Africa’s democratic transition alongside Ramaphosa.

He played a central role in negotiations that led to the end of white-minority rule, working closely with leaders of Ramaphosa’s ANC to broker a settlement.

Ties between Pretoria and Washington have been strained since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

President Ramaphosa seen during an event at Emperors Palace Hotel in Johannesburg with other officials as he passes a wall of historic enlarged photos of him interacting with Roelf Meyer in the 1990’s. Image: Elmond Jiyane, GCIS

US-SA tensions escalated over Trump’s repeated, unsubstantiated claims that South Africa is persecuting white farmers in what he refers to as a ‘white genocide’ and seizing their land.

The US government declared Rasool persona non grata in 2025, after he described Trump’s supporters as part of a “supremacist movement”.

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Last week, Ramaphosa accepted the credentials of newly appointed US ambassador to SA Leo Brent Bozell, signalling a potential reset in diplomatic ties.

Bozell met Meyer in March (see main/feature photo), during which the US envoy said he was “privileged” to learn more about his role in South Africa’s democracy.

Zane Dangor, Director-General of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said on Monday that Ramaphosa had made a decision on who will be the next ambassador to Washington, without identifying the nominee.

“It will be the kind of person who I think is ideally suited for the environment,” Dangor was quoted as saying by the Daily Maverick news website.

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Meyer currently serves as a director of the In Transformation Initiative, a non-profit that he helped found that promotes democratic transitions and conflict resolution.

© 2026 Bloomberg

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