Paul Mashatile

The spotlight in South Africa's turbulent political scene has been relentlessly fixed on President Cyril Ramaphosa as he battles a damning cash-in-sofa ...

And Mbeki was deputy to the first black president, Nelson Mandela. Mashatile put his hand up for the ANC deputy president's job but remained vague on his support for Ramaphosa in the run-up to the vote. It was alleged the tall slim-built leader awarded top jobs to his friends when he was head of finance for the province, which includes the country's financial hub of Johannesburg, between 2004 and 2008. Mashatile, 61, is a calm and enigmatic fixture of the ANC who started his political career during the struggle to dismantle apartheid. And that, in turn, opens the way to the position of head of state, which is determined by parliament, where the ANC has an absolute majority. He is Paul Mashatile, who after years of quietly ascending through the ruling African National Congress (ANC) was installed on Monday as deputy to Ramaphosa, newly re-elected as party chief.