South Africa names new US ambassador amid tense Trump ties

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed veteran politician Roelf Meyer as the country's ambassador to the United States, after a year when the post was vacant amid difficult ties with Donald Trump's administration in Washington. 

Ramaphosa's spokesman Vicent Magwenya announced the appointment in a message to the Associated Press and other news outlets. 

"I can confirm that President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Mr. Roelf Meyer as South Africa's Ambassador to the US," he said, effective immediately. 

Who is Roelf Meyer? 

Roelf Meyer was a member of parliament from 1979 to 1997 and was minister of defense from 1991 to 1992 under the white minority government of former President F.W. De Klerk's National Party. 

He was later a chief negotiator in the talks that brought an end to apartheid and led to the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa's first Black leader in 1994. 

Meyer served in Mandela's first unity government Cabinet as constitutional development minister from 1994 to 1996. 

He later founded the United Democratic Movement, a center-left party that still exists in South Africa but which holds a negligible three of 400 seats in the National Assembly. Meyer is no longer a member.

Why are ties between the US and South Africa tense? 

US President Donald Trump has criticized South Africa's ANC-led government and cut all financial assistance to the country. Accusing the government of allowing a "white genocide" against the minority Afrikaner group, he famously took Ramaphosa to task on the issue in front of reporters at the White House during a 2025 visit to the US.

The US has also granted Afrikaners who feel persecuted in South Africa a bespoke migration and asylum procedure.

Meyer's predecessor Ebrahim Rasool was expelled in May last year after criticizing the Trump administration and its handling of South Africa, saying it was trying to "project white victimhood as a dog whistle."

The comments prompted some criticism in South Africa for breaching diplomatic norms, though they came as little surprise hailing from a diplomat who had grown up classified as "colored" under apartheid rule. 

The appointment of Meyer follows soon after Ramaphosa accepted conservative activist Leo Brent Bozell III as the new US ambassador to South Africa.

The two nations also are at odds over South Africa's decision to pursue an International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump boycotted the G20 Leaders Summit hosted by South Africa in 2025 and has not invited South Africa to the G20 meetings being hosted by the US in Miami in December.

Beyond this, South Africa's wealthiest and best-known white emigre, Elon Musk, has long been a staunch critic of the government in his country of origin. This criticism has amplified considerably in recent days, as Musk is upset at barriers to access for his Starlink company which he claims are racially motivated. 

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru