TRENDING: Who is Ebrahim Rasool?

7 Views

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dropped a bombshell on Friday when he confirmed that South Africa’s ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, was “no longer welcome” in the United States.

Rubio accused Rasool of hating both America and its President Donald Trump.

Ebrahim Rasool is “a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS,” Rubio posted on X, referring to Trump by his White House X account handle.

“We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”

South Africa’s presidency were quick to respond in a statement, saying it had “noted the regrettable expulsion” and urged “all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter.”

“South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America,” the presidency said.

Who is Ebrahim Rasool?

Ebrahim Rasool, 62, has had a long and significant career in both South African politics and diplomacy.

From his early involvement in the anti-apartheid movement to serving as the Premier of the Western Cape, Rasool’s life has been marked by both leadership and controversy.

Born into a mixed heritage family in District Six, Cape Town, Rasool’s early life was deeply affected by apartheid policies, especially the forced eviction of his family from their home when he was just nine years old.

This early experience would influence his later political activism.

Rasool studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and became actively involved in student politics, eventually working as a teacher.

His political career took off when he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and the United Democratic Front during the anti-apartheid struggle.

His rise in the ANC led him to various leadership positions, including being appointed the Premier of the Western Cape from 2004 to 2008.

His time as Premier was marked by both successes and challenges, including death threats from criminal groups, and a controversial recall by the ANC in 2008 due to internal party dynamics.

Ebrahim Rasool’s diplomatic career was perhaps one of the most high-profile parts of his political journey.

After a period as a special advisor to President Thabo Mbeki, he was appointed South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States in 2010, a position he held until 2015.

In 2025, Rasool was reappointed as Ambassador, but was expelled from the United States in a highly publicised incident.

He was declared persona non grata by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio following his accusations of President Trump and Elon Musk promoting white supremacy.

This expulsion came amidst broader tensions around South African land reform policies.

Throughout his career, Rasool has also faced controversies, such as allegations of improper political dealings while serving as Ambassador to the US, although investigations into these claims were inconclusive.

On a personal note, Ebrahim Rasool is married to Rosieda Shabodien, and they have two children.

Despite facing significant setbacks in his political career, particularly with the ANC’s declining support in the Western Cape, Rasool’s influence within the party and his role in shaping South Africa’s political and diplomatic landscape remain notable.

Latest development

The expulsion of an ambassador – a very rare move by the United States – is the latest development in rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria.

Donald Trump in February froze US aid to South Africa, citing a law in the country that he alleges allows land to be seized from white farmers.

Last week, Trump further fueled tensions, saying South Africa’s farmers were welcome to settle in the United States after repeating his accusations that the government was “confiscating” land from white people.

Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that “any Farmer (with family!) from South Africa, seeking to flee that country for reasons of safety, will be invited into the United States of America with a rapid pathway to Citizenship.”

One of Trump’s closest allies is South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk, who has accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government of having “openly racist ownership laws.”

Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid and the government under pressure to implement reforms.

‘Wonderful’ call

During a G20 event in South Africa last month, Ramaphosa said he had a “wonderful” call with Donald Trump soon after the US leader took office in January.

But relations later “seemed to go a little bit off the rails,” he said.

In his X post, Rubio linked to an article from the conservative news outlet Breitbart, which addressed Rasool’s remarks via livestream to a foreign policy seminar on Friday.

“He said that white supremacism was motivating Trump’s ‘disrespect’ for the ‘current hegemonic order’ of the world,” Breitbart reported, adding that Rasool noted that Trump’s Make America Great Again movement “was a white supremacist response to growing demographic diversity in the United States.”

Rasool, an anti-apartheid campaigner in his youth, has expressed anger toward the Israeli government for its war in Gaza.

In February in an interview with news site Zeteo, he said what South Africans experienced during apartheid rule “is on steroids in Palestine.”