Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African lawyer, trade union leader, activist, politician and businessman. He was born in Soweto, near Johannesburg, in what is now Gauteng province. While Ramaphosa was previously a major figure in South African national politics, he has in recent years become a prominent figure in the business community. 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Johannesburg, including Soweto, from the International Space Station Soweto is an urban area in Johannesburg, in Gauteng, South Africa. ... , City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... Capital Johannesburg Largest city Johannesburg Area  - Total Ranked 9th 17,010 km² Premier (List) Mbhazima Shilowa (ANC) Population   - 2001   - 1996   - Density (2001) Ranked 2nd 8,837,172 7,348,423 520/km² (Ranked 1st) Languages isiZulu (21. ...

Widely respected as a skilful and formidable negotiator and strategist, Ramaphosa is best known for building up the biggest and most powerful trade union in South Africa — the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) — as well as for the crucial role he played, with Roelf Meyer of the National Party, during the negotiations to bring about a peaceful end to apartheid and steer the country towards its first democratic elections in April 1994. The National Union of Mineworkers is a trade union for coal miners in the United Kingdom. ... The National Party (Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of South Africa from June 4th 1948 until May 9th 1994, and was disbanded in 2005. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...

He is married to Dr. Tshepo Motsepe and they have four children.

Early life and education

Although he spent most of his childhood in Soweto, he matriculated at Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, Venda, in 1971. He subsequently registered to study law at the University of the North (Turfloop) in 1972. The Capital city of Venda was Thohoyandou, where the palimentary building are still today suituated. ... Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... See also Wikipedias Law Portal. ... University of the North (UNIN), a university in Limpopo Province, South Africa, was established in 1959. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

While at university, Ramaphosa became involved in student politics and joined the South African Students Organisation (SASO), and the Black People's Convention (BPC). This resulted in him being detained in solitary confinement for eleven months in 1974 under Section 6 of the Terrorism act, for organising pro-Frelimo rallies. In 1976 he was detained for a second time, and held for six months. After his release, he became a law clerk for a Johannesburg firm of attorneys and continued his studies through the University of South Africa (UNISA), where he obtained his B. Proc. Degree in 1981. The South African Students Organisation (SASO) was a body of South African students who resisted apartheid through political action. ... The Black Peoples Convention (BPC) was founded at the end of 1972 as the Nationalist Liberatory Flagship of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO, pronounced fray-LEE-moo; Portuguese: Frente de Libertação de Moçambique) is a political party that has ruled Mozambique since independence in 1975. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... An attorney is someone who represents someone else in the transaction of business: For attorney-at-law, see lawyer, solicitor, barrister or civil law notary. ... Note: UniSA can also refer to the University of South Australia. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Political activist and trade union leader

After obtaining his degree, Ramaphosa joined the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA) as a legal advisor. In 1982, CUSA requested that Ramaphosa start a union for mineworkers; this new union was launched in the same year and was named the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Ramaphosa was arrested in Lebowa, on the charge of organising or planning to take part in a meeting in Namakgale which was banned by the local magistrate. See also: 1981 in South Africa, other events of 1982, 1983 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... The Flag of Lebowa Lebowa was a bantustan located in the Transvaal in north eastern South Africa. ...

Ramaphosa was elected as the first General Secretary of the union, a position he held until he resigned in June 1991, following his election as Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC). Under his leadership, union membership grew from 6,000 in 1982 to 300,000 in 1992, giving it control of nearly half of the total black workforce in the South African mining industry. As General Secretary, he also led the mineworkers in one of the biggest strikes ever in South African history. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The African National Congress (ANC) is a centre-left political party, and has been South Africas governing party supported by a tripartite alliance between itself, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) since the establishment of majority rule in May 1994. ... See also: 1991 in South Africa, other events of 1992, 1993 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ...

In 1985, the NUM broke away from CUSA and helped to establish the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). When COSATU joined forces with United Democratic Front (UDF) political movement against the National Party government of P. W. Botha, Ramaphosa took a leading role in what became known as the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM). See also: 1984 in South Africa, other events of 1985, 1986 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. ... Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberal parties | Malawi political parties ... P.W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, (born January 12, 1916) commonly known as P.W. and as die groot krokodil (the great crocodile) was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and State President of South Africa from 1984 to 1989. ...

When Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Ramaphosa was on the National Reception Committee. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela OM, CC, AC, QC (IPA: ) (born July 18, 1918) was the first President of South Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic elections. ...

Politician and President

Subsequent to his election as Secretary General of the African National Congress in 1991, he became head of the negotiation team of the ANC in negotiating the end of apartheid with the National Party government. Following the first fully democratic elections in 1994, Ramaphosa became a member of parliament; he was elected the chairperson of its Constitutional Assembly on 24 May 1994 and played a central role in the government of national unity. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...

After he lost the race to become President of South Africa to Thabo Mbeki, he resigned from his political positions in January 1997 and moved to the private sector, where he became a director of New Africa Investments Limited. He remains a National Executive Member of the African National Congress. The President of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africas Constitution. ... Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (born June 18, 1942) is the President of the Republic of South Africa. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

While not a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Ramaphosa has claimed that he is a committed socialist. SACP symbol South African Communist Party (SACP) is a political party in South Africa. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ...

The media continually speculates on Ramaphosa joining the race for the presidency of the ANC in 2006, before the 2009 South African Presidential Elections [1]. However, he has stated that he is not interested in the presidency, and commentators on the Left do not accept the possibilities of a Businessman leading the African National Congress and the country.

Businessman

Among other positions, he is currently (2004) executive chairman of Shanduka Holdings, a company he founded to participate in black economic empowerment transactions. He is also chairperson of Johnnic Holdings, Bidvest Group and the MTN Group. His other non-executive directorships include Macsteel Holdings, Alexander Forbes, Standard Bank and Medscheme. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Honorary doctorates and awards

Among others, Ramaphosa has received honorary doctorates from the University of Natal, the University of Port Elizabeth, the University of Cape Town, the University of the North, the University of Lesotho and the University of Massachusetts. In October 1991, he was a visiting Professor of Law at Stanford University. The University of KwaZulu-Natal is a university in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. ... University of Port Elizabeth is located in Port Elizabeth, a port city with a strong industrial sector and an important centre for the South African motor industry. ... The University of Cape Town is a major tertiary education institution in Cape Town, South Africa, located on the Rhodes Estate on the slopes of Devils Peak. ... University of the North (UNIN), a university in Limpopo Province, South Africa, was established in 1959. ... This page is about the university system across Massachusetts. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stanford redirects here. ...

Ramaphosa received the Olof Palme prize in Stockholm in October 1987. Sven Olof Joachim Palme ( ) (January 30, 1927 – February 28, 1986) was a Swedish politician. ... Stockholm panorama from the City Hall is the capital of Sweden, and consequently the site of its Government and Parliament as well as the residence of the Swedish head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2004, he was voted 34th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Great South Africans was a South African television series that aired on SABC3 and hosted by Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu and Denis Beckett. ...

International positions

In his role as a businessman, Ramaphosa is a member of the Coca-Cola Company International Advisory Board as well as the Unilever Africa Advisory Council. He was also the first deputy chairman of the Commonwealth Business Council. The Coca-Cola Companys headquarters in Atlanta, GA. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is an international beverage and food manufacturer whose headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States of America. ... Unilever (Euronext: UNA, LSE: ULVR, NYSE: UN) is an Anglo-Dutch company that owns many of the worlds consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. ... The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) was formed at the Edinburgh CHOGM in 1997. ...

Along with the ex-president of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, he was appointed an inspector of the Irish Republican Army weapons dumps in Northern Ireland. Ramaphosa also sits on the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty and is the Honorary Consul General for Iceland in South Africa. President Martti Ahtisaari December 6th 2004 Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (born June 23, 1937) is a former President of Finland (1994–2000) and UN diplomat, noted for his international peace work. ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... Motto: (French for God and my right)2 Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (De facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (De facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office suspended... The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) was an ad hoc commission of participants from mostly North and South America which in 2001 issued a legal opinion on contingent sovereignty and worked to popularize the concept of humanitarian intervention and democracy-restoring intervention under the name of Responsibility... See also: consulate (disambiguation). ...

External links

• Cyril eyeing presidency, souces claim
• Mandela remains neutral on Ramaphosa
• Ramaphosa remains mum on presidency bid
• Ramaphosa speaks on ANC presidency
• I will stick to business, says Ramaphosa
• Ramaphosa not interested in ANC top job
• Unpacking Ramaphosa's presidential candidacy
• Anatomy of fast money