The relationship between the United States and South Africa has historically been defined by stark policy differences, reflecting deeper differences in values that have often placed the two partners on opposing sides of contentious foreign affairs matters. Despite this, the United States and South Africa have maintained functional and mutually beneficial relations. The position of South African ambassador to the United States was first held in March 1949, following the upgrade of South Africa's diplomatic mission to an embassy.
Here's a look at some key aspects of this role and the individuals who have filled it.
Key Figures in South African-US Diplomacy
Several individuals have played pivotal roles as South African ambassadors to the United States, navigating the intricate dynamics between the two nations.
Ebrahim Rasool
Ebrahim Rasool served as South Africa’s ambassador to the United States during President Barack Obama’s administration from 2010 to 2015 and again in 2025. He is a former Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School for Foreign Service. Ambassador Rasool has recently completed a term of duty as South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States of America, an appointment that was the culmination of a distinguished record of Public Service in South Africa.
He studied at the University of Cape Town where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature and Economic History, and a Higher Diploma in Education. During this period, he became involved in student politics.
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Rasool was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature in April 1994 following the country's first democratic election. He served as the MEC for Health and Social Services from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, he was elected Provincial Chairperson of the ANC. He was appointed the MEC for Finance and Economic Development in 2001 and held this position until his appointment as the 5th Premier of the Western Cape in April 2004.
In April 2018, the ANC National Head of Elections, Fikile Mbalula, announced Rasool as the party's Provincial Elections Head for the 2019 general elections. This move was seen as part of a campaign to have him return as Provincial Chairperson of the ANC. Following the elections, the ANC's support declined even further in the province.
In 2010, before taking up his position as ambassador to the United States, an investigation was launched into allegations that Rasool was paying a political reporter in a mainstream newspaper to write articles that portrayed him favourably.
Nomaindiya Mfeketo
Nomaindiya Cathleen Mfeketo is South African Ambassador to the United States since March 2020. Social injustice and the brutality of the Apartheid system motivated Nomaindiya to enter into active politics at a tender age of 23.
Nomaindiya served as South Africa’s Minister of Human Settlements (2018 - 2019) and Deputy Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (2014 - 2018) a role in which she worked closely on the Palestine question, the Middle East Peace Process and BRICS.
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Nomaindiya has had an extensive career within the South African Government and has served as the Deputy Speaker of Parliament in South Africa’s fourth Parliament and as the first black woman Mayor of the City of Cape Town.
Other Notable Ambassadors
- Wentzel Christoffel du Plessis
- Harald Langmead Taylor Taswell
- Ndumiso Ntshinga
Challenges and Tensions in the Relationship
Under the Biden administration, however, the relationship showed serious signs of fraying. Tensions first arose over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which the United States defined as a threat to world order but which South Africa led many African nations to refuse to condemn Russia.
Perhaps in a telling case that epitomizes the tensions between the two countries, the ongoing war in Gaza placed the United States and South Africa on a collision course when the latter accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians at the International Court of Justice.
Historically, the differences stem from the historical context of South Africa’s black-majority struggle against the white-minority apartheid regime. For decades, the African National Congress (ANC) represented the aspirations of the majority of South Africans whose civic and human rights had been denied under the white minority rule, a regime that the United States politically supported for decades. Post-apartheid, the two countries interpret and appreciate that struggle differently, with the United States believing that it played a critical role in ending apartheid thanks to years of organized protests in front of the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C., and a range of boycott movements in the 1980s and 1990s.
The ANC, which waged a sustained struggle and later single-handedly ruled the country for 30 years post-apartheid, has a more nuanced appreciation of the role of the outside support it received during its long liberation struggle. Importantly, they view the Soviet and Communist world’s political and diplomatic support received over decades as far more determinative for their victory over apartheid. Thus, ANC leaders, since coming to power, have embraced a foreign policy that is fiercely nonaligned and resistant to pressures from Western countries while continuing to harbor appreciation for those like Russia and Cuba, who helped it under apartheid.
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Economic Ties and Trade
Still, Washington and Pretoria have managed to build a working relationship that has benefited both sides economically. The United States is South Africa’s second-largest export market, with $14.7 billion worth of goods exported to the United States in 2024. South Africa’s largest export market is China. South Africa’s exports under AGOA were approximately $3.7 billion in 2024.
South Africa’s economic growth has been sluggish over the past decade, but projections show a positive upward trend, assuming no new external shocks. If South Africa is removed from AGOA eligibility, which seems like an increasing likelihood, exports will undoubtedly suffer while South Africa searches for new markets.
Here's a table summarizing the trade relationship:
| Metric | Value (2024) |
|---|---|
| US as South Africa's Export Market | Second-largest |
| Value of Goods Exported to US | $14.7 Billion |
| Exports Under AGOA | $3.7 Billion |
Impact of Diplomatic Actions
Meanwhile, the suspension of assistance from the United States to South Africa has already had an immediate impact on health services, particularly HIV treatment. This funding supported the anti-retroviral medication for HIV treatment of 5.5 million people annually. Patients have undoubtedly been affected by the lack of access to antiretrovirals, with some estimates that the aid freeze could cause over half a million deaths in South Africa over the next decade.
Setting clear expectations about what kind of criticism or opposition Washington is willing to brook and where its redlines are, it likely believes, sets clear markers, making it easier to advance mutually beneficial relations. Furthermore, it likely calculates that because South Africa’s friends in the BRICS won’t be able to step up and save Pretoria the economic pain lost trade and diplomatic ties with Washington costs it, Washington is sending a deeper message that the BRICS block is not yet strong enough to insulate its members from Washington’s wrath. Many will take the lesson and choose not to challenge Washington.
True, many poor, Global South countries will choose not to cross Washington on issues that matter to it, but nor will they trust an administration that exacts such high political and economic costs on countries who have the temerity to question Washington’s values and intentions. That loss of trust is not cost-free and likely speeds up the increasing divide between Africa and the Global South that the closure of USAID and the upcoming travel bans already set in motion.
