Government of National Unity (South Africa)

E34486

The Government of National Unity (South Africa) was the post-apartheid coalition administration formed after the 1994 democratic elections, bringing together former rival parties under President Nelson Mandela to oversee the country’s transition to majority rule.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf coalition government
government
national unity government
cabinetSeat Cape Town
cabinetType power-sharing cabinet
coalitionWithdrawal National Party withdrawal from the Government of National Unity in 1996
constitutionalProvision parties with at least 5 percent of the vote entitled to cabinet representation
country South Africa
deputyPresident F. W. de Klerk
Thabo Mbeki
electoralSystem proportional representation
endDate 1999-06-14
excludedMajorParty Democratic Party (South Africa)
executiveBranch Cabinet of South Africa
surface form: Cabinet of South Africa (1994–1999)
followedBy Government of South Africa
surface form: Mbeki administration
formedAfterElection 1994 South African general election
governingDocument Interim Constitution of South Africa, 1993
surface form: Interim Constitution of 1993
headOfGovernment Nelson Mandela
headOfState Nelson Mandela
historicalPeriod post-apartheid era
includedParty African National Congress
Inkatha Freedom Party
National Party (South Africa)
surface form: National Party
internationalSignificance model of negotiated democratic transition
keyEventDuringTerm Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)
surface form: Truth and Reconciliation Commission

adoption of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa
first non-racial local government elections in South Africa
legalBasis Interim Constitution of South Africa, 1993
surface form: Interim Constitution of South Africa
legislativeTerm Parliament of South Africa
surface form: First Parliament of the Republic of South Africa (1994–1999)
legislature Parliament of South Africa
lowerHouse National Assembly of South Africa
majorReformArea economic policy realignment
public service transformation
security sector reform
politicalContext end of apartheid
negotiated settlement between former adversaries
politicalSystem parliamentary republic
precededBy apartheid-era government of South Africa
president Nelson Mandela
primaryObjective draft and adopt a final democratic constitution
manage transition to majority rule
promote national reconciliation
startDate 1994-05-10
succeededBy Government of South Africa
surface form: Government of South Africa under President Thabo Mbeki
symbolicLeaderRole Nelson Mandela as symbol of reconciliation
upperHouse National Council of Provinces
surface form: National Council of Provinces (from 1997)

Senate of South Africa (1994–1997)

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

National Party (South Africa) participatedIn Government of National Unity (South Africa)
National Party (South Africa) withdrewFrom Government of National Unity (South Africa)
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa) commissionedBy Government of National Unity (South Africa)
Interim Constitution of South Africa, 1993 established Government of National Unity (South Africa)
this entity surface form: Government of National Unity
Joe Slovo servedInGovernmentOf Government of National Unity (South Africa)
Dawid de Villiers participatedIn Government of National Unity (South Africa)
this entity surface form: post-apartheid government of South Africa
TRC oversightBy Government of National Unity (South Africa)
subject surface form: Truth and Reconciliation Commission