Who was the third president of the Republic of South Africa?

The president of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force. Previously the head of state had been called the state president.

The first five presidents, along with the years of their election, are as follows:

1 Nelson Mandela, 1994

2 Thabo Mbeki, 2004

3 Kgalema Motlanthe, 2008

4 Jacob Zuma, 2009, 2014

5 Cyril Ramaphosa, 2018, 2019

Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe was born on 19 July 1949 and grew up in Alexandra, Johannesburg, Transvaal. While working for the Johannesburg City Councl in the 1970s, he was recruited into the paramilitary wing of the African National Council. In 1976, he was arrested on terrorism charges and in 1977 was convicted of three charges under the Terrorism Act and sentenced to imprisonment on Robben Island from 1977 to 1987.

Motlanthe subsequently maintained a low public profile, but was elected in September 2008 to the presidency of South Africa by the South African National Assembly following the resignation of Thabo Mbeki. He served for eight months in what was considered to be a caretaker presidency on behalf of Jacob Zuma, who then became president in May 2009.

After the end of his presidency, Motlanthe was appointed as the Deputy President of South Africa by Zuma.