Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

took the oath as

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nat ...

on 10 May 1994 and announced a Government of National Unity on 11 May 1994. The cabinet included members of Mandela's

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

, the National Party and

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party ( zu, IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko, IFP) is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founde ...

, as it was required under the terms of the Clause 88 of the

Interim Constitution of South Africa The Interim Constitution was the fundamental law of South Africa from the first non-racial general election on 27 April 1994 until it was superseded by the final constitution on 4 February 1997. As a transitional constitution it required th ...

that all parties winning more than 20 seats in National Assembly be given representation in the cabinet.

Background

In the election of 27 April 1994, the

obtained the majority of seats in the National Assembly, and thus could form the government on its own. The two chief parties who made use of the provision for a GNU were the National Party and the

, both of which obtained cabinet portfolios for their leaders and other members of parliament. President

also invited other parties to join the cabinet, even though they did not obtain the minimum twenty seats in the National Assembly. The aims of the GNU centred on correcting social and economic injustices left by the legacy of Apartheid. The main aim, however, was that of creating a final constitution. The constitution was essentially a two-step process. During the CODESA talks – started in 1991 – the NP (National Party) and ANC (African National Congress) agreed to create an interim constitution, which would be the basis for a final constitution. The final constitution was to be drawn up by the two chambers of

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

– the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

. However, it was important to the GNU that the opinions of ordinary South Africans be included into the constitution. From 1994 to 1996 the GNU organised large media campaigns. This was not easy, considering that they needed to reach 40 million people, most of whom were illiterate or didn't have television. Slogans such as "You’ve made your mark, now have your say" were used to gain public attention for the cause. Over 1.7 million written submissions were collected over the two years. These included opinions on matters ranging from the death penalty to abortion. On 8 May 1996 the final Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly and one day later, second Deputy President of the Republic

F. W. de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South ...

announced the withdrawal of his National Party from the GNU, with effect from 30 June. The requirement for the GNU lapsed at the end of the first Parliament in 1999. Even so, the Inkatha Freedom Party continued to hold seats in the government, as minority partners, until the elections of 2004.

Cabinet

:''Note:'' Opaque background indicates the member did not serve the full term of Mandela's cabinet.

Shuffle

Cabinet changes and reshuffles: * Minister of Finance, Derek Keys, resigned in mid-1994 and was replaced by Chris Liebenberg''Daily News Briefings'', ANC, 6 July 1994. * Cabinet reshuffle in March / April 1996, following resignation of Chris Liebenberg * Cabinet reshuffle in May 1996, taking effect 1 July 1996, upon the withdrawal of the National Party (NP) from the Cabinet''ANC Daily News Briefing''
14 May 1996. * Replacement of Bantu Holomisa as Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism by Peter Mokaba in August 1996.''ANC Daily News Briefing, 27 July 1996''
/ref>

References

{{Republic of South Africa Cabinets Government of South Africa 1994 establishments in South Africa 1999 disestablishments in South Africa Cabinets established in 1994 Cabinets disestablished in 1999 Nelson Mandela

Background

Cabinet

Shuffle

See also

References