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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rachel Savage in Johannesburg

South Africa names apartheid-era negotiator as ambassador to US

Cyril Ramaphosa with Roelf Meyer, both smiling, and other people sitting at convention.
Cyril Ramaphosa (left) with Roelf Meyer (centre) at a University of South Africa convention last August. Photograph: Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images

South Africa has appointed a former apartheid government chief negotiator during the talks that ended white rule in the 1990s as ambassador to the US, in what is seen as an attempt to improve the deeply strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

Roelf Meyer replaces Ebrahim Rasool, who was expelled in March 2025 after he criticised the Trump administration.

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