President of South Africa

President of the Republic of South Africa
10 other official names Umongameli waseNingizimu Afrika (Zulu) uMongameli waseMzantsi Afrika (Xhosa) President van Suid-Afrika (Afrikaans) Mopresidente wa Afrika Borwa (Northern Sotho) Moporesitente wa Aforika Borwa (Tswana) Mopresident wa Afrika Borwa (Sotho) Puresidente wa Afrika-Dzonga (Tsonga) uMengameli weleNingizimu Afrika (Swazi) Muphuresidennde wa Afrika Tshipembe (Venda) uMongameli weSewula Afrika (Southern Ndebele)
Presidential seal
Incumbent Cyril Ramaphosa since 15 February 2018
Government of South Africa
Style	Mr. President (informal) His Excellency (formal, diplomatic)
Type	Head of state Head of government Commander-in-chief
Member of	Cabinet
Residence	Mahlamba Ndlopfu (Pretoria) Genadendal (Cape Town) Dr. John L. Dube House (Durban)
Seat	Union Buildings
Appointer	National Assembly of South Africa
Term length	Five years, renewable once
Constituting instrument	Constitution of South Africa
Precursor	State President
Formation	10 May 1994; 29 years ago (1994-05-10)
First holder	Nelson Mandela
Deputy	Deputy President
Salary	R 3,900,000 annually (2019)[1]
Website	www.thepresidency.gov.za

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The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force. Between 1961 and 1994, the office of head of state was the state presidency.

The president is elected by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, and is usually the leader of the largest party, which has been the African National Congress since the first multiracial election was held on 27 April 1994. The Constitution limits the president's time in office to two five-year terms.^[2] The first president to be elected under the new constitution was Nelson Mandela. The incumbent is Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected by the National Assembly on 15 February 2018 following the resignation of Jacob Zuma.

Under the interim constitution (valid from 1994–96), there was a Government of National Unity, in which a member of Parliament (MP) from the largest opposition party was entitled to a position as deputy president. Along with Thabo Mbeki, the last apartheid president, F. W. de Klerk also served as deputy president, in his capacity as the leader of the National Party which was the second-largest party in the new Parliament. But De Klerk later resigned and went into opposition with his party. A voluntary coalition government continues to exist under the new constitution (adopted in 1996), although there have been no appointments of opposition politicians to the post of deputy president since.

The president is required to be a member of the National Assembly at the time of the election. Upon election, the president immediately resigns their seat for the duration of the presidential term. The president may be removed either by a motion of no-confidence or an impeachment trial.