Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 1 - Chapter 4 Page 2

folio to a white person. These objections also affected others as well. I rejected all these reservations as based not on principle but on purely personal considerations. I presented the list to the officials as recommended by Thabo. The officials approved all the names without exception. Then there followed a discussion on who would be appointed deputy-president. Two candidates, Thabo Mbeki and Cyril Ramaphosa, were considered. Ramaphosa had led our team of negotiators to the World trade Centre. He is an adroit and persuasive person, and influenced both friend and foe at the Centre. He attracted a lot of respect and emerged as one of the most powerful figures among that constellation of prominent thinkers. He was, and still is, a real asset to the organisation. Throughout my political career I have been haunted by the perception that the ANC was a Xhosa organisation, notwithstanding overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I pointed out that Oliver Tambo, Thabo Mbeki and myself came from the same ethnic group. Would we not reinforce that false perception if Thabo became deputy-president, I asked. Should we not rather consider for this position Cyril, an equally gifted and respected person who came from the northern part of our country. I conceded that Thabo was well-qualified for the position, and that his knowledge of the continent and diplomatic affairs far exceeded that of Cyril. But I insisted that the latter had a lot of clout and full internally in particular with trade unions and the vast majority of opinion-makers, especially on those who took part in the negotiations. The officials were not convinced notwithstanding my argument. They