Once billed as the man most likely to succeed Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa, Ramaphosa, 55, has the reputation of being a tough negotiator and a skilful strategist. He and Roelf Meyer, from the former National Party, played a key role in negotiating the end of apartheid and a new constitution in the early 1990s.
The negotiating skills of Ramaphosa and Meyer, both lawyers, acquired a towering reputation and soon after the African National Congress (ANC) took office in 1994 they were called to mediate the peace process in strife-torn Northern Ireland from 1995 to 1997.
