# African National Congress (ANC) ## Basic Info **Name:** African National Congress (ANC) **What is it:** South African political party and liberation movement, Africa's oldest. Governing party since 1994. Lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in the 2024 elections (40.2% of the vote) and now leads a Government of National Unity (GNU) coalition. **Location:** Headquarters at Luthuli House, Johannesburg, South Africa **Link:** [anc1912.org.za](https://www.anc1912.org.za) | Twitter: [@MYANC](https://x.com/myanc) **Who is involved:** See leadership and related professionals below. --- ## Entries ### Historical Overview Founded on 8 January 1912 in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress. Renamed ANC in 1923. Initially focused on petitioning for the rights of black South Africans in Cape Province. From the 1940s, under younger leaders like Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, it shifted toward mass mobilization and passive resistance against apartheid. Banned in 1960 after the Sharpeville massacre. Operated in exile (headquartered first in Morogoro, Tanzania, then Lusaka, Zambia) for three decades. Founded the military wing [[Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK)]] in 1961. Key leaders including Mandela were imprisoned (Rivonia Trial, 1964). The ban was lifted in 1990, leading to the negotiated transition to democracy. ### Current leadership (the "Top Seven") Elected at the 55th National Conference (Nasrec, December 2022). Next elective conference scheduled for 2027. - **President:** [[Cyril Ramaphosa]] - **Deputy President:** Paul Mashatile - **National Chairperson:** Gwede Mantashe - **Secretary-General:** Fikile Mbalula - **1st Deputy Secretary-General:** Nomvula Mokonyane - **2nd Deputy Secretary-General:** Maropene Ramokgopa - **Treasurer-General:** Dr. Gwen Ramokgopa **Key governance body:** The National Executive Committee (NEC) — 87 members elected every five years at the National Conference. Highest decision-making body between conferences. Day-to-day operations delegated to the National Working Committee (NWC). ### Organizational structure #### The Tripartite Alliance Since the apartheid era, the ANC has maintained a formal alliance with the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). Each member retains operational independence, its own constitution, programs, and membership. All three are aligned around the implementation of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR). #### Luthuli House The ANC's national headquarters in Johannesburg, known as Albert Luthuli House (named after the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and ANC president). The building is treated as synonymous with the party's national leadership and central decision-making apparatus. #### Leagues The ANC has three internal leagues: the Women's League, the Youth League (ANCYL), and the Veterans' League. Under the party constitution, leagues are autonomous bodies that can devise their own constitutions and policies. At national conferences, they function like provinces — with voting delegates and the power to nominate leadership candidates. #### Chancellor House Holdings (the ANC's investment arm) Chancellor House is a South African holding company that serves as the ANC's in-house investment vehicle, with interests in mining, engineering, energy, and information technology. Named after the Johannesburg building where Mandela and Tambo's law firm was located. The company was formed in 2003 on the initiative of then-treasurer-general Mendi Msimang, with the explicit purpose of raising funds for the party. Its existence was first publicly revealed by the Mail & Guardian in 2006. After years of denials, Chancellor House eventually confirmed that the ANC is a beneficiary of the Chancellor House Trust, which owns the company. Chancellor House held a 25% stake in Hitachi Power Africa, which won contracts worth over R40 billion for boiler work at the Medupi and Kusile power stations. The arrangement was widely criticized as a conflict of interest — the ANC, as the governing party, was simultaneously player and referee in major state procurement. --- ### ANC bureaucrats and technical cadre In June 2024, the ANC assembled a negotiating team to structure the GNU after losing its parliamentary majority. The team was led by NEC members and supported by a technical team of party bureaucrats with prior experience in local government (particularly Gauteng), supranational organizations (African Union), and Luthuli House leadership roles. **Technical team members:** - Nkenke Kekane - David Makhura - Mdumiseni Ntuli - [[Febé Potgieter-Gqubule]] — Head of Public Policy and Research - Parks Tau - [[Joel Netshitenzhe]] — Director of [[Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA)]] --- ## Related Professionals - [[Patrice Motsepe]] — Potential future ANC leader; billionaire, brother-in-law of Cyril Ramaphosa