[17] After his release, he became a law clerk for a Johannesburg firm of attorneys and continued with his legal studies through correspondence with the University of South Africa (UNISA), where he obtained his Bachelor of Procurationis degree (B.

Under his leadership, union membership grew from 6,000 in 1982 to 300,000 in 1992, giving it control of nearly half of the total black workforce in the South African mining industry.

[26] However, in 1996, he resigned from ANC office and from Parliament and announced his retreat from politics,[27] reportedly because he was disappointed that Thabo Mbeki had been anointed Mandela's successor.

[28][29] After he resigned from politics, Ramaphosa became a businessman, taking advantage of the conducive environment provided by the new Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy.

Among other positions, he was executive chairman of the Shanduka Group, a company he founded, which invested in mineral resources, energy, real estate, banking, insurance, and telecoms (SEACOM).

[43] According to Ramaphosa, Odinga had visited him in 2007, but he did not have any "special interest" that would lead him to favour one side or the other;[44] however, he said that he could not be an effective mediator without "the trust and confidence of all parties" and that he did not wish to become an obstacle to the negotiations.

[48] Ahead of the 52nd National Conference in 2007, he denied persistent rumours that he intended to join the race to replace Mbeki as ANC president;[49][50] that year, he ranked 30th on the list of most popular NEC candidates.

This entailed his exit from Shanduka,[59] from McDonald's South Africa,[60] from platinum producer Lonmin,[31][32] and from all other companies which might give rise to a conflict of interest, particularly in industries regulated by the government.

[31][62] Alongside his duties as Deputy President, Ramaphosa was made Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly in terms of section 91(4) of the Constitution, a role which involved coordinating between Parliament and Zuma's cabinet.

[63] In addition, Ramaphosa was responsible for developing a proposal to implement a national minimum wage, leading consultation on the matter between Zuma's administration and representatives of labour and business.

[65] In July 2014, Ramaphosa called for unity in the country after Julius Malema argued that the Afrikaans portion of the national anthem should be scrapped.

This, in turn, led to a confrontation with ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule, who, upon his suspension from the party in May 2021, attempted to retaliate by suspending Ramaphosa, accusing him of irregularities in the financing of the CR2017 campaign.

Ramaphosa emphasised the need to grow the economy of South Africa, increase tourism and youth employment, as well as reduce the size of the Cabinet.

[109] As Ramaphosa had previously been elected as president to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of his predecessor, he is constitutionally eligible to serve two full terms.

[110] At the 2020 AU summit, Ramaphosa expressed support for the African Continental Free Trade Area and described it as a major driver for reigniting industrialization and paving the way for Africa's integration into the global market.

[1] Ramaphosa also stated that the free trade agreement will make Africa a player of considerable weight and scale in the global market as well.

[111] Ramaphosa was re-elected as President for a second term on 14 June 2024 with the support of the Democratic Alliance and other opposition parties after ANC failed to win an outright majority in the 2024 general elections.

[113] Since Ramaphosa became president he has made land reform and the economy his main priorities, as well as dealing with the outbreak of listeriosis which has claimed the lives of over 100 since the start of 2018.

In February 2018, South Africa's parliament voted 241–83 to begin amending the "property clause" in the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation.

[122] The decision was taken in order to respond to the increasing challenges faced by the country during the ongoing energy crisis, and to give "oomph," in Ramaphosa's words, to South Africa's economic recovery.

[125][126] On 14 August 2018, President Ramaphosa addressed the launch of the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) initiative in Pretoria to respond to the sanitary challenges facing the country's poorest schools.

[129] On 20 March 2018, Ramaphosa made a trip to Kigali, Rwanda, along with Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, and met with President Paul Kagame and spoke about restoring relations between South Africa and Rwanda, later participating as panelists on the African Continental Free Trade Area Business Forum (ACFTABF) ahead of the 10th African Union Extraordinary Summit.

[136] Days later, Ramaphosa announced his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts have agreed that a delegation of African heads of state could visit Moscow and Kyiv to present a peace plan.

[140] In June 2023, Ramaphosa led a delegation to Russia and Ukraine, which also included heads of state from Zambia, the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Uganda and Senegal.

[141] After a meeting with Ramaphosa in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdraws its forces from the entire occupied territory.

[142] Ramaphosa visited the site of a mass grave in the town of Bucha, Ukraine and was in Kyiv during Russia's missile attack on the city.

[153] In January 2024, he met with Hemedti, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in their first meeting since the start of the Sudanese Civil War.

[170] The Marikana Commission of Inquiry ultimately found that given the deaths that had already occurred, his intervention did not cause the increase in police on site, nor did he know the operation would take place on 16 August.

[174] On 19 July 2019, the Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, released a report in which she claimed that Ramaphosa had intentionally misled the Parliament of South Africa over the controversial Bosasa donations to his CR17 ANC presidential campaign.

Controversial business dealings include his joint venture with Glencore[185] and allegations of benefitting illegally from coal deals with Eskom which he has staunchly denied,[186][187] during which Glencore was in the public spotlight for its tendentious business activities involving Tony Blair in the Middle East; his son, Andile Ramaphosa, has also been found to have accepted payments totalling R2 million from Bosasa, the security company implicated in corruption and state capture by the Zondo Commission.