African National Congress

The South African liberation movement, founded in 1912, governing since the first democratic election in 1994.

Overview

The ANC was founded in 1912 as the South African Native National Congress, petitioning against land dispossession, evolving under Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo, and Nelson Mandela into the mass movement of the anti apartheid struggle: Defiance Campaign, Freedom Charter of 1955, Rivonia trials, exile armed struggle, and UDF internal front. Mandela presidency 1994 began three decades of dominance, Mbeki, Motlanthe, Zuma, and Ramaphosa succeeding amid growth of patronage, state capture findings, and service failures that cut its support below forty percent in 2024, forcing coalition. The party remains the historic vessel of the national democratic revolution and the deepest organizational tradition in Africa.