South Africa’s (SA) President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the appointment of Roelf Meyer as SA’s next Ambassador to the United States (US), saying he is more than qualified to take on the role.
Meyer’s appointment comes after the post remained vacant since March 2025, following the expulsion of former Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool.
Rasool was declared persona non grata after publicly criticising the administration of US President Donald Trump. Meyer will still need to formally submit his credentials to the US authorities before assuming his duties.
He has expressed hope that the process will proceed smoothly, as he prepares to represent SA and continues flying the country’s flag on the international stage.
“Meyer was a cabinet minister and has done very well in those areas. Recently he’s been involved in mediation processes in a number of countries and that in many ways has sharpened his diplomatic skills where he has been able to get involved either in conflict situations trying to bring peace amongst differing warring parties at a very quiet level. He is continuing to assist even our government in these different diplomatic efforts and when we needed to appoint an ambassador in the US, I found him to be more than qualified to be able to work in the US, recalibrate our relationship with the US, interface with a number of stakeholders.”
—SABC—
