Jacob Zuma

His Excellency Jacob Zuma
Zuma in November 2017
4th President of South Africa
In office 9 May 2009 – 14 February 2018
Deputy	Kgalema Motlanthe (2009–2014) Cyril Ramaphosa (2014–2018)
Preceded by	Kgalema Motlanthe
Succeeded by	Cyril Ramaphosa
13th President of the African National Congress
In office 18 December 2007 – 18 December 2017
Deputy	Kgalema Motlanthe (2007–2012) Cyril Ramaphosa (2012–2017)
Preceded by	Thabo Mbeki
Succeeded by	Cyril Ramaphosa
3rd Deputy President of South Africa
In office 14 June 1999 – 14 June 2005
President	Thabo Mbeki
Preceded by	Thabo Mbeki
Succeeded by	Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
7th Deputy President of the African National Congress
In office 20 December 1997 – 18 December 2007
President	Thabo Mbeki
Preceded by	Thabo Mbeki
Succeeded by	Kgalema Motlanthe
National Chairperson of the African National Congress
In office 20 December 1994 – 20 December 1997
Preceded by	Thabo Mbeki
Succeeded by	Mosiuoa Lekota
Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress
In office 7 July 1991 – 20 December 1994
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Cheryl Carolus
President of uMkhonto weSizwe
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 December 2023
Deputy	John Hlophe
Preceded by	New political party
Personal details
Born	Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (1942-04-12) 12 April 1942 (age 82) Nkandla, South Africa
Political party	uMkhonto weSizwe
Other political affiliations	African National Congress (1959–2024)[1]
Spouses	Gertrude Khumalo ​ (m. 1973)​ Kate Mantsho ​ ​ (m. 1976; died 2000)​ Nkosazana Dlamini ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 1998)​ Nompumelelo Ntuli ​ (m. 2008)​ Thobeka Mabhija ​ (m. 2010)​ Gloria Ngema ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	20 (estimated), including Duduzile, Duduzane, Gugulethu, and Thuthukile
Occupation	Politician activist
Nicknames	Nxamalala Msholozi JZ

This article is part of a series about Jacob Zuma
Political career African National Congress uMkhonto weSizwe President (2009–2018) President of the African National Congress (2007–2017) Deputy President (1999–2005) Presidency Mandela Day Marikana strike Domestic policy International trips Infrastructure and nuclear deal HIV/AIDS in South Africa Zuma Must Fall campaign Governments First Cabinet Second Cabinet Elections 2009 2014 Post-presidency 2021 South African unrest Books about Zuma Enemy of the People Khwezi The President's Keepers The Republic of Gupta A Simple Man Our Poisoned Land Controversy, trials and arrests Schabir Shaik trial Rape trial Contempt of court Corruption trial Nkandla compound firepool controversy Rape of Lady Justice cartoon The Spear Media gallery
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Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (Zulu: [geɮʱejiɬeˈkisa ˈzʱuma]; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi.^[2][3][4][5] Zuma was a former anti-apartheid activist, member of uMkhonto weSizwe, and president of the African National Congress (ANC) from 2007 to 2017.

Zuma was born in the rural region of Nkandla, which is now part of the KwaZulu-Natal province and the centre of Zuma's support base. He joined the ANC at the age of 17 in 1959 and spent ten years in Robben Island Prison as a political prisoner. He went into exile in 1975 and was ultimately appointed head of the ANC's intelligence department. After the ANC was unbanned in 1990, he quickly rose through the party's national leadership and became deputy secretary general in 1991, national chairperson in 1994, and deputy president in 1997. He was the deputy president of South Africa from 1999 to 2005 under President Thabo Mbeki, Nelson Mandela's successor. Mbeki dismissed Zuma on 14 June 2005 after Zuma's financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was convicted of making corrupt payments to Zuma in connection with the Arms Deal. Zuma was charged with corruption and was also acquitted on rape charges in the highly publicised 2006 trial. He managed to retain the support of a left-wing coalition inside the ANC, which allowed him to remove Mbeki as ANC president in December 2007 at the ANC's Polokwane elective conference.

Zuma was elected president of South Africa in the 2009 general election and took office on 9 May. The criminal charges against him were formally withdrawn the same week. As president, he launched the R4-trillion National Infrastructure Plan and signed a controversial nuclear power deal with the Russian government, which was blocked by the Western Cape High Court in 2017. As a former member of the South African Communist Party, he increasingly relied on left-wing populist rhetoric, and in his 2017 State of the Nation address he announced a new policy of "radical economic transformation". Among the few policies implemented before the end of his presidency were land expropriation without compensation, free higher education, a series of attempted structural reforms in key sectors involving restrictions on foreign ownership, and more stringent black economic empowerment requirements. In the international arena, Zuma emphasised South-South cooperation and economic diplomacy. The admission of South Africa to the BRICS grouping has been described as a major triumph for Zuma, and he has been praised for his HIV/AIDS policy.

Zuma's presidency was beset by controversy, especially during his second term. In 2014, the Public Protector found that Zuma had improperly benefited from state expenditure on upgrades to his Nkandla homestead, and in 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma had failed to uphold the Constitution, leading to calls for his resignation and a failed impeachment attempt in the National Assembly. By early 2016, there were also widespread allegations, later investigated by the Zondo Commission, that the Gupta family had acquired immense corrupt influence over Zuma's administration, amounting to state capture. Several weeks after Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected to succeed Zuma as ANC president in December 2017, the ANC National Executive Committee recalled Zuma. After a fifth vote of no confidence in Parliament, he resigned on 14 February 2018 and was replaced by Ramaphosa the next day.

Shortly after his resignation, on 16 March 2018, the National Prosecuting Authority announced that it would reinstate corruption charges against Zuma in relation to the 1999 Arms Deal. He pleaded not guilty on 26 May 2021, but the trial was not scheduled to take place until early 2023. The trial has since been set for April 2025. In a separate matter, in June 2021, the Constitutional Court convicted Zuma of contempt of court for his failure to comply with a court order compelling his testimony before the Zondo Commission. He was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment and was arrested on 7 July 2021 in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal. However, he was released on medical parole two months later on 5 September. The high court rescinded his parole on 15 December. The parole was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court of Appeal, but it allowed the Department of Correctional Services to consider whether to deduct the time spent under it from his sentence. On 11 August 2023, the Department of Correctional Services granted Zuma remission of his 15-month sentence.^[6]