| |
|---|---|
 1st Cabinet of theRepublic of South Africa (since the1994 election) | |
| 1994–1999 | |
 Nelson Mandela (1994) | |
| Date formed | 10 May 1994 (1994-05-10) |
| Date dissolved | 14 June 1999 (1999-06-14) (5 years, 1 month and 4 days) |
| People and organisations | |
| President | Nelson Mandela |
| Deputy President |
|
| No. of ministers | 27 ministers |
| Member parties | |
| Status in legislature | Majority (national unity) |
| Opposition parties |
|
| Opposition leaders |
|
| History | |
| Election | 1994 election |
| Legislature term | First Parliament |
| Predecessor | De Klerk (TEC) |
| Successor | Mbeki I |
Nelson Mandela took the oath asPresident of South Africa on 10 May 1994 and announced aGovernment of National Unity on 11 May 1994.[1] The cabinet included members of Mandela'sAfrican National Congress, theNational Party andInkatha Freedom Party, as Clause 88 of theInterim Constitution of South Africa required that all parties winning more than 20 seats inNational Assembly should be given representation in the cabinet. Upon its formation it comprised 27 ministers, with a further 13 deputy ministers.[2][3]
In theelection of 27 April 1994, theAfrican National Congress (ANC) obtained the majority of seats in theNational Assembly, and thus could form the government on its own. The two chief parties who made use of the provision for a Government of National Unity (GNU) were theNational Party (NP) and theInkatha Freedom Party (IFP), both of which obtained cabinet portfolios for their leaders and other members of parliament. PresidentNelson Mandela 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 governing by consensus andbuilding peace while correcting the social and economic injustices left by the legacy ofapartheid.[4] It also oversaw the development of the finalpost-apartheid Constitution, which was carried out by the two chambers ofparliament, theSenate and National Assembly.
On 8 May 1996 the final Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly and one day later, second Deputy President of the RepublicF. W. de Klerk announced the withdrawal of his National Party from the GNU, with effect from 30 June. De Klerk said that the withdrawal was related to the need for a strong opposition to the ANC and that it was an "important step in the growing maturity and normalization of our young democracy".[5]
The requirement for the GNU lapsed at the end of the first Parliament in 1999. Even so, the IFP continued to hold seats in the government, as minority partners, until theelections of 2004.
The first cabinet change occurred in mid-1994, whenDerek Keys resigned asMinister of Finance and was replaced byChris Liebenberg.[6]Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele becameMinister of Housing in January 1995 afterJoe Slovo died.[7] In February 1996,Roelf Meyer resigned asMinister of Constitutional Development Provincial Affairs after being appointed secretary-general of the NP; the NP nominatedJohn Mavuso to replace him in the cabinet, but in a newly created position as Minister of General Services.[8]
On 28 March 1996, Mandela announced that Liebenberg himself had resigned and would be succeeded byTrevor Manuel; Liebenberg's deputy,Alec Erwin, in turn took over Manuel's portfolio asMinister of Trade and Industry.[9][10] Later the same week,Pallo Jordan was fired asMinister of Posts and Telecommunications and was replaced byJay Naidoo, formerly a minister without portfolio with responsibility for theReconstruction and Development Programme office (subsequently closed).[11]
The first and only major cabinet reshuffle was announced after de Klerk announced the NP's withdrawal from the cabinet, which would take effect on 30 June 1996. The NP's seats in the cabinet were ceded to the ANC, and in May, Mandela announced four new ministerial appointments: the shuffle sawValli Moosa named asMinister of Constitutional Development and Provincial Affairs,Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi named asMinister of Welfare and Population Development,Penuell Maduna named asMinister of Minerals and Energy, and Pallo Jordan returned to the cabinet asMinister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.Derek Hanekom's land affairs portfolio was expanded to become theMinistry of Agriculture and Land Affairs. The second deputy presidency, formerly held by de Klerk, was abolished, as was Mavuso's general services portfolio.[12]
Peter Mokaba replacedBantu Holomisa as Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in August 1996,[13] andLionel Mtshali succeededBen Ngubane asMinister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in September 1996 after Ngubane resigned to join theKwaZulu-Natal government.[14]
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