Cyril Ramaphosa

by Anthony Butler

The extraordinary rise of one of South Africa’s most celebrated political leaders and his contributions to the country’s liberation movement are thoroughly chronicled in this insightful account. From his humble beginnings in turbulent Johannesburg to his appointment as general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, this biography offers a frank appraisal of Ramaphosa's achievements and limitations.

Genres: South Africa, Nonfiction, Africa, Biography

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Anthony Butler is a professor of public policy at the University of Cape Town and a columnist for Business Day. He is a former fellow of Emmanuel College–Cambridge and a former director of the policy and administration program at the University of London–Birkbeck.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great analysis and on the history; the man remains an enigma.

[Tafadzwa Kwaramba · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book brilliantly details the life of Cyril Ramaphosa, sadly it was published before the ANC 2017 congress and therefore does not go into detail of how he got to the gong he always craved for. The most beautiful aspect of the book is that it paints an all round picture of Cyril Ramaphosa, including his strengths and weaknesses as a human being and as a leader. The book hardly goes into his role in the Marikana tragedy which is an omission that removes a lot of value from the books. Overall, there are a lot of leadership lessons to be learnt in the book particularly when the book discusses how Ramaphosa built NUM and COSATU as well as how he handled himself in negotiations with mine bosses and ultimately as head of the ANC's constitution making team during CODESA. A must read to get into the mind of the man leading the most complex economy in Africa

[Sicelo]

An insightful account of Cyril Ramaphosa that will be useful in determining or evaluating his current performance as deputy president of South Africa currently