The Leader of the Opposition in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

is the leader of the largest

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

that is not in

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

. The

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

was the most important House from 1910 to 1994 and the

from 1994. The leader of the opposition acts as the public face of the opposition, leading the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet and the challenge to the government on the floor of Parliament. They thus act as a chief critic of the government and ultimately attempt to portray the opposition as a feasible alternate government. The position of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly is currently held by John Steenhuisen of the Democratic Alliance, who was appointed on 27 October 2019. In the list below, when the office is said to be vacant, there was no opposition party with more than ten seats and no clear Leader of the Opposition has been identified. This was the case between the formation of the Hertzog-Smuts coalition in 1933 and the breakaway of the Purified National Party in 1934. It was also the case during the government of National Unity from 1994 until the National Party ministers resigned in 1996. In some cases, the Leader of the Opposition may have been the Parliamentary leader only, during a vacancy in the party leadership and the first part of their own tenure, before being confirmed as national party leader by a party congress. Athol Trollip and Lindiwe Mazibuko (and

Mmusi Maimane Mmusi Aloysias Maimane (born 6 June 1980) is a South African politician, businessman, and Leader of Build One South Africa, a political party. Maimane is also the former Leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) political ...

for a short period) have been Parliamentary leaders only, whilst the incumbent national party leader of the Democratic Alliance,

Helen Zille Otta Helene Maree (''née'' Zille ; born 9 March 1951), known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. From 2009 until 2019, she w ...

, was not a member of parliament.

Legal definition

Section 56 of the

South Africa Act 1909 The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created the Union of South Africa from the British Cape Colony, Colony of Natal, Orange River Colony, and Transvaal Colony. The Act also made provisions for p ...

, was amended by Section 1 (b) of the South Africa Act Amendment Act 1946. A salary was provided for the Leader of the Opposition and the office was given an official definition. The current

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gover ...

makes provision for recognition of the Leader of the Opposition in section 57(2): Rule 21 of the rules of the National Assembly provides in similar words that:

List of leaders of the opposition in South Africa (1910–present)

;Notes:

References

* ''The South African Constitution'', by H.J. May (3rd edition 1955, Juta & Co) * ''Keesing's Contemporary Archives'', various volumes * ''Smuts: A Reappraisal'', by

Bernard Friedman Bernard Friedman (1896 – 1984) was a South African surgeon, politician, author, and businessman who co-founded the anti-apartheid Progressive Party. Biography Education, Medical Training and Role in WW2 He was educated at Pretoria Boys ...

(George, Allen & Unwin 1975) * ''South Africa 1982 Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa'', published by Chris van Rensburg Publications {{DEFAULTSORT:Leader of the Opposition (South Africa) Parliament of South Africa Leader of the Opposition

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...