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African National Congress Foundation Day, 2021

January 7, 2021

The African National Congress is the Republic of South Africa's governing political party. It has been the ruling party of post apartheid South Africa since the election of Nelson Mandela in the 1994 election, winning every election since then. Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent President of South Africa has served as leader of the ANC since 18 December 2017.

Founded on 8 January 1912 by John Langalibalele Dube in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress, its primary mission was to bring all Africans together as one people, to defend their rights and freedoms. This included giving full voting rights to black South Africans and mixed race South Africans and from 1948 onwards, to end the system of apartheid introduced by the Nationalist Party Government after their election (by White voters only) in that year.

The African National Congress originally attempted to use non-violent protests to end apartheid; however, the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960, in which 69 black Africans were shot and killed by Police and hundreds wounded during a peaceful protest, contributed to deteriorating relations with the South African Government.
On 8 April 1960, the administration of Charles Robberts Swart banned the ANC in South Africa. After the ban, the ANC formed the Umkhonto we Sizwe to fight against apartheid utilizing guerrilla warfare and sabotage.