Kgalema Motlanthe

President of South Africa

Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe 19 July 1949 Boksburg, Transvaal, Union of South Africa

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25 September 2008 – 9 May 2009

3rd President of South Africa His Excellency Kgalema MotlantheMotlanthe in 20093rd President of South AfricaIn office 25 September 2008 – 9 May 2009DeputyBaleka MbetePreceded by Thabo MbekiSucceeded by Jacob Zuma6th Deputy President of South AfricaIn office 9 May 2009 – 26 May 2014PresidentJacob ZumaPreceded by Baleka MbeteSucceeded by Cyril Ramaphosa8th Deputy President of the African National CongressIn office 18 December 2007 – 18 December 2012PresidentJacob ZumaPreceded by Jacob ZumaSucceeded by Cyril Ramaphosa14th Secretary-General of the African National CongressIn office 18 December 1997 – 18 December 2007Preceded by Cyril RamaphosaSucceeded by Gwede Mantashe Other political positions Minister without PortfolioIn office July 2008 – September 2008PresidentThabo MbekiPreceded by Position established Succeeded by Position ended Member of the National Assembly of South AfricaIn office May 2009 – May 2014In office May 2008 – September 2008ConstituencyBoksburg Personal detailsBornKgalema Petrus Motlanthe (1949-07-19 ) 19 July 1949 (age 72) Boksburg, Transvaal, Union of South AfricaCitizenshipSouth AfricaNationalitySouth AfricanPolitical partyAfrican National CongressSpouse(s)Mapula Motlanthe (m. 1976–2010) Gugu Mtshali (m. 2014)Children3Occupation Politician anti-apartheid activist trade union leader Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (Tswana pronunciation:  ; born 19 July 1949) is a South African politician who served as President of South Africa between 25 September 2008 and 9 May 2009, following the resignation of Thabo Mbeki. After the end of his presidency, Motlanthe was appointed as the Deputy President of South Africa by his successor, Jacob Zuma. Motlanthe served as Deputy President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 2007 until 2012, when he declined to run for a second term. At the 53rd National Conference of the African National Congress, Motlanthe ran for the position of President of the ANC but was soundly defeated by Zuma, who won re-election. He was succeeded as Deputy President of South Africa by Cyril Ramaphosa in 2014. Motlanthe, who had maintained a low public profile, was elected in 2008 to the presidency of South Africa by the South African National Assembly following the resignation of Mbeki, and he was widely considered to be acting as a "caretaker president" on behalf of Zuma. Zuma succeeded Motlanthe on 9 May 2009 in a presidential election held by the South African National Assembly, following the 2009 general election which had been won by the ANC. Motlanthe had been a student activist, trade unionist and member of the ANC's military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, during the struggle against apartheid. Motlanthe, a left-leaning intellectual, is seen as a highly skilled political operator within the politics of South Africa, and a key figure behind the success of Zuma. Motlanthe was South Africa's first Sotho-Tswana-speaking president.