Zuma, Jacob (1942-…), served as president of South Africa from May 2009 to February 2018. From 2007 to 2017, he was the leader of the African National Congress (ANC), a South African political party. Cyril Ramaphosa succeeded Zuma as leader of the ANC in 2017 and as president of South Africa in 2018.
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma was born on April 12, 1942, in Nkandla, near Ulundi in the province of Natal (now part of KwaZulu-Natal). In 1959, he joined the ANC. South Africa’s government outlawed the ANC in 1960, but the party continued to operate in secret. As part of the ANC, Zuma strongly resisted the government’s policy of rigid racial segregation, known as apartheid. Zuma was arrested in 1963 and imprisoned on Robben Island. He was released from prison in 1973. From 1975 to 1990, Zuma lived in exile in several African nations, but he continued to work for the ANC.
Zuma returned to South Africa after the ban on the ANC was lifted in 1990. In 1991, South Africa’s government repealed the last of the laws that formed the legal basis of apartheid. Zuma served in a number of high-level positions within the ANC, including deputy secretary general, national chairperson, and deputy president. In 2007, the ANC elected Zuma as its leader. Zuma’s election unseated Thabo Mbeki who had headed the ANC for 10 years.
The ANC’s victory in a 2009 parliamentary election led to Zuma becoming president of South Africa. Zuma and the ANC remained in power following a 2014 parliamentary election. In 2017, the ANC elected Ramaphosa as its leader. In 2018, Zuma resigned as president of South Africa amid accusations of corruption.
Zuma surrendered to authorities in July 2021, after receiving a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court for failing to appear at a corruption hearing. Zuma’s imprisonment sparked violent unrest by a group within the ANC that continued to support him. More than 300 people were killed as a result of the unrest. In September, Zuma was released from prison on medical parole to receive treatment at a hospital. In December, the Constitutional Court of South Africa revoked (cancelled) Zuma’s parole. Zuma appealed this decision, but the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld it in November 2022. In August 2023, the Correctional Services Department declared that Zuma would not have to return to prison.
Following his time as president of South Africa and leader of the ANC, Zuma often criticized his successor, Ramaphosa. He also criticized the decisions of the ANC under Ramaphosa’s leadership. In January 2024, Zuma announced that he would support the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new political party, in a parliamentary election expected that year. The ANC responded by suspending Zuma’s ANC membership. In May, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma’s earlier prison sentence barred him from running for a seat in the National Assembly in the upcoming parliamentary election. With Zuma’s backing, MK won about 15 percent of votes in the election, held later in May. The ANC lost its majority in Parliament for the first time since 1994. Zuma was expelled from the ANC in July 2024.
