Jacob Zuma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jacob Zuma
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Zuma in 2009
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| 4th President of South Africa | |
| In office 9 May 2009 – 14 February 2018 |
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| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Kgalema Motlanthe |
| Succeeded by | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| 13th President of the African National Congress | |
| In office 18 December 2007 – 18 December 2017 |
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| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Succeeded by | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| 3rd Deputy President of South Africa | |
| In office 14 June 1999 – 14 June 2005 |
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| President | Thabo Mbeki |
| Preceded by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Succeeded by | Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka |
| 6th Deputy President of the African National Congress | |
| In office 20 December 1997 – 18 December 2007 |
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| President | Thabo Mbeki |
| Preceded by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Succeeded by | Kgalema Motlanthe |
| Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress | |
| In office July 1991 – December 1994 |
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| Preceded by | established |
| Succeeded by | Cheryl Carolus |
| National Chairperson of the African National Congress | |
| In office December 1994 – December 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Oliver Tambo |
| Succeeded by | Terror Lekota |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma
12 April 1942 Nkandla, Natal, Union of South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Other political affiliations |
uMkhonto we Sizwe (since 2023) |
| Spouses |
Gertrude Sizakele Khumalo
(m. 1973)Kate Mantsho
(m. 1976; died 2000)Nompumelelo Ntuli
(m. 2008)Thobeka Mabhija
(m. 2010)Gloria Bongekile Ngema
(m. 2012) |
| Children | 20 (estimated), including Gugulethu, Thuthukile and Duduzane |
| Occupation |
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Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma ( 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 a former anti-apartheid activist, member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, and president of the African National Congress (ANC) between 2007 and 2017.
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Early life
Zuma was born in Nkandla, Natal Province (now part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal), and often moved around Natal and the suburbs of Durban as a child. His father, Nobhekisisa, was a policeman who died when Zuma was five, and his mother, Geinamazwi, was a domestic worker. His middle name, Gedleyihlekisa, means "one who smiles while causing you harm" in Zulu. He did not receive formal schooling.
He has at least three brothers—Michael, Joseph, and Khanya—and at least one sister—Velephi. Michael Zuma was employed by Khumbula Property Services, a construction company, and in 2011 admitted to using his elder brother Jacob's political status to secure a government contract for the company in exchange for a homestead in Nkandla.
Political career
Zuma 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.
On 14 June 2005, Mbeki removed Zuma from his post as deputy president following the conviction of Zuma's associate, Schabir Shaik, for making underhanded payments to Zuma in relation to the Arms Deal.
Soon after Zuma's dismissal, the NPA announced its intention to instate formal corruption charges against him. He was served with a provisional indictment on fraud and corruption charges in November 2005, mirroring the indictment earlier served on Shaik. However, the NPA was unprepared to serve the final indictment and filed an application for postponement. On 20 September 2006, the Pietermaritzburg High Court dismissed the application, and when the NPA indicated that it was not prepared to proceed with the trial, the matter was stricken off.
Although Zuma had been fired as national deputy president, he retained the ANC deputy presidency, and internal factions began to coalesce around him and Mbeki. Zuma's supporters publicly expressed the view that his dismissal and prosecution were the result of a political conspiracy by Mbeki, who they said had sought to oust Zuma to entrench their dominance in the ANC.
President of South Africa (2009–2018)
Zuma was elected president of South Africa in the 2009 general election and took office on 9 May. 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. In 2017, he announced a new policy of "radical economic transformation". Few of the attendant policy initiatives were implemented before the end of his presidency, but they included 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.
Foreign policy
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Zuma's first state visit as president was to Angola, where he sought to improve relations with the government of President José Eduardo dos Santos, who had had a tense relationship with Mbeki. His government's foreign policy emphasised the developmental objectives of African and Global South countries with a focus on economic diplomacy. It was also characterised by a pivot towards the BRIC, especially China. In December 2010, South Africa became a formal member of BRIC, which was then renamed BRICS, and Zuma attended the group's third summit meeting in Sanya, China, in 2011. South Africa's admission followed a concerted campaign for membership and has been described as "a huge diplomatic coup" and "the most important foreign policy achievement of the Zuma administration".
During South Africa's tenure on the United Nations Security Council, Zuma's administration was criticised for deviating in its stance on certain foreign regimes, especially in its attitudes towards international intervention in civil conflicts. It voted in favour of Resolution 1970 and Resolution 1973 but condemned their use by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as the basis for military intervention in Libya. It also voted in favour of a 2012 resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, but established friendly relations with the Assad regime after the 2014 Syrian presidential election. The administration also appeared to vacillate in its response to the disputed 2010 presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire.
Re-election
Despite an "Anyone but Zuma" campaign in the run-up to the ANC's 53rd National Conference, Zuma was re-elected ANC president on 18 December 2012, beating Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe by a large margin. Although in 2008 he had said that he would prefer to serve only one term as president, Zuma became the ANC's sole presidential candidate in the 2014 national election.
Post-presidency
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 that were investigated by the Zondo Commission between 2018 and 2021. They claimed the Gupta family had acquired immense corrupt influence over Zuma's administration that amounted 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 Zuma faced prosecution on corruption charges relating 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. In July 2021, Zuma was imprisoned in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, for contempt of court for a separate legal matter. After testifying for less than three days at the Zondo Commission on state capture allegations, he refused to return, violating summons and a Constitutional Court order compelling his testimony. On 29 June 2021, the Constitutional Court sentenced him to fifteen months imprisonment. He was arrested on 7 July and 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.
Personality and public image
Zuma's "charisma and affable personality" is at the centre of his public image, and is thought to be responsible for much of his political popularity.
Zuma is known for his sense of humour. As a politician, he was viewed as an accessible figure – "a simple man, a man of the people", and a good listener.
He often presents himself as a Zulu traditionalist, and has been associated with social conservatism. He is a polygamist, in line with Zulu tradition, and at a 2006 rally in KwaZulu-Natal, for example, he publicly spoke against same-sex marriage. He was frequently photographed wearing traditional Zulu attire at cultural events, and he appears less comfortable speaking in English than in his native Zulu, in which he is known for his "linguistic flair".
Personal life
Zuma is a polygamist, in line with traditional Zulu culture, and has been married six times. In 2012 the Daily Telegraph estimated he had 20 children, and in 2014 the Guardian reported he had 21.
Jacob Zuma Foundation
Zuma started the foundation to send children to school and build houses for people living in poverty.
Honours and awards
Honours
| Year | Country | Order | |
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| 2010 |  Cuba |
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Order of José Martí. |
Awards
- Nelson Mandela Award for Outstanding Leadership from the Medical University of South Africa, awarded in Washington, D.C. (1998)
- During a visit to the United Kingdom in 2010, Jacob Zuma was made an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.
- Imo Merit Award, the highest award in the Imo State of Nigeria, is conferred on those who have made a difference in the development of their communities. (15 October 2017)
Statues
- Nigeria's Imo State unveiled a statue of Jacob Zuma on 15 October 2017.
Honorary degrees
- University of Zululand (2001), Honorary Doctor of Administration
- University of Fort Hare (2001), Honorary Doctor of Literature/Letters
- Medical University of Southern Africa (2001), Honorary Doctor of Philosophy
- University of Zambia (UNZA) Great East Campus (2009), Honorary Doctor of Law
- Peking University (2012), Honorary Professor of International Relations
Images for kids
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Zuma with the Indian Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in Johannesburg, 2004
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Under Bulelani Ngcuka, the NPA opened its investigation into Zuma.
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A Cape Town news vendor displays the headline "Zuma Dawn" on 10 May 2009.
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Zuma and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the 2009 G20 summit
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Zuma and his third wife, Thobeka Madiba-Zuma, during a state visit to the Iranian city of Isfahan in 2016
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Zuma and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in South Africa in 2016
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Insulting posters at the Zuma Must Fall protest in Cape Town, 7 April 2017
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A 360° photograph of the protests in front of the Houses of Parliament
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Zuma with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in March 2017
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Commemorative ANC cloth from Zuma's 2009 campaign and inauguration
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Zuma's third day of testimony to the Zondo Commission, 17 July 2019
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Zuma clashed with the Zondo Commission chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
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Zuma's trademark laugh, 2009
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Zuma embraces South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in 2011.
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Zuma in 2009
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Zuma and his third wife Thobeka Madiba-Zuma with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in London, 2010
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Zuma and his second wife Nompumelelo Ntuli with Indian President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi, 2012
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See also
In Spanish: Jacob Zuma para niños
