SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICAL PARTIES
African National Congress (ANC)
Deputy President, Government of National Unity

Thabo Mbeki is South Africa's deputy president and considered by many the heir to the presidency. His ANC party is enjoying a hefty lead over all others and is predicted to win.

As deputy president to Mr. Mandela, Mbeki has chaired cabinet meetings, overseen ministers and foreign delegations, and constructed government policy.

Mbeki was born into the struggle to end apartheid. His father, Govan, was a Communist freedom fighter imprisoned along with Mandela for almost three decades. As a boy, Thabo Mbeki spent long periods away from home due to his parents' involvement in the ANC. When he was 14, he joined the ANC Youth League, two years before the normal entry age. He was expelled from school for political activities and sent into exile in 1962.

He moved to London where studied economics at Sussex University and remained active in student politics. He also undertook ANC military training in the Soviet Union.

In the 1970s, Mbeki represented the ANC throughout Africa, working in Botswana, Swaziland and Nigeria. By the 1980s, Mbeki's efforts had shifted to winning white support for anti-apartheid efforts. He met with white business leaders, academics and political officials at clandestine meetings in Zambia.

Mbeki's character is often described as "enigmatic." His supporters say he is capable, suave, gentle and diplomatic. Detractors have called him ruthless and manipulative.

Mbeki would be very different from his predecessor, Mandela. While Mandela is known for his loose African shirts, his natural connection with children, and his dancing ability, Mbeki almost always wears a suit and tie, rarely laughs out loud and appears stiff at public appearances.

Some South Africans are nervous because Mbeki does not seem interested in the reconciliation gestures that made Mandela so popular with traditional ANC enemies. Last year Mbeki stated that "we need to take exceptional measures to redress the truly exceptional reality created by centuries of racial oppression." He said the government must act in a way that "favors the black poor, even though in some instances it might demand some sacrifices for the affluent."

At the same time, Mbeki has given repeated assurances that economic policies will remain market-friendly and that reconstruction programs for the poor will continue. Mandela's spokesman, Parks Mankahlana says "there will be a new face in the president's office, but the policies will stay the same. The difference may be a change in pace."

The challenges faced by the post-Mandela regime are formidable: soaring crime, poverty, corruption and unemployment. Even some of Mbeki's critics say his practicality and hands-on approach might be what the country needs at this point in history.

ANC Party Profile

The ANC is currently the majority party in South Africa, but from 1960-1990, the party was declared a "banned organization" by the government.

During that time, party leaders were either forced into exile or imprisoned while party activity went underground. The ANC finally gained power in April 1994 following the country's first democratic elections. Nelson Mandela became president.

The party has a long history of fighting white domination. Leaders are now trying to balance the continuing struggle for liberation with more policy and an open market economic plan.