Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma,
(born 12 April 1942) is the
President of South Africa,
elected by parliament following his party's victory in the
2009 general election.
Zuma is the President of the
African National Congress (ANC), the governing political party, and was
Deputy President of South Africa from 1999 to 2005.
Zuma is also referred to by his initials JZ
and his
clan name Msholozi.
Zuma became the President of the ANC on 18 December 2007 after defeating incumbent
Thabo Mbeki at the
ANC conference in Polokwane. He was re-elected as ANC leader at the
ANC conference in Manguang on 18 December 2012, defeating challenger
Kgalema Motlanthe by a large majority.
Zuma was also a member of the
South African Communist Party (SACP),
briefly serving on the party's
Politburo until he left the party in 1990.
On 20 September 2008, Thabo Mbeki announced his resignation after being recalled by the
African National Congress's
National Executive Committee.
The recall came after
South African High Court Judge Christopher Nicholson ruled that Mbeki had improperly interfered with the operations of the
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), including the prosecution of Jacob Zuma for corruption.
Zuma has faced significant legal challenges. He was charged with
rape in 2005, but was acquitted. In addition, he fought a long legal battle over allegations of
racketeering and
corruption, resulting from his
financial advisor Schabir Shaik's conviction for corruption and
fraud. On 6 April 2009, the National Prosecuting Authority decided to drop the charges, citing political interference.
He officially announced the death of the
anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela,
South Africa's first democratically elected president, in a
press conference on December 5th, 2013.
