South Africa: Ramaphosa Has an Ambassador to the US, but Mum's the Word

13 April 2026
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Peter Fabricius

SA has finally selected an ambassador to the US, but is working on the formalities.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has chosen an ambassador to the United States to fill the hot seat that has been empty for more than a year, but the government is not revealing the name of the candidate.

The selection was confirmed by Zane Dangor, director-general of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco). He said he could not reveal the name of the person until all the formalities of the appointment had been completed.

"So there will be an ambassador quite soon, and it will be the kind of person who I think is ideally suited for the environment," Dangor told the Cape Town Press Club on Monday, 13 April.

The ambassadorship in Washington has been vacant since the US expelled Ebrahim Rasool in March 2025 after barely three months in the job because he implied in a public webinar that US President Donald Trump was a white supremacist.

Ramaphosa's international investment adviser, Alistair Ruiters, a former director-general of the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as Andries Nel, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, have been tipped as possible ambassadors to the US. Colin Coleman, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, who is currently a lecturer at...

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