ANC

The African National Congress (ANC) is a South African political party and historically significant liberation movement. It was founded in 1912 in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) and adopted the name African National Congress in 1923. The organization emerged to represent the rights of Black South Africans and to oppose racial segregation.

Throughout the apartheid era, the ANC led mass campaigns and international advocacy. Key moments include the 1949 Programme of Action, the 1955 Freedom Charter, and the Defiance Campaign of the early 1950s. After decades of repression, the ANC established an armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, and was banned in the 1960s. The organization was legalized again in 1990, leading to negotiations that culminated in the country's first multiracial democratic elections in 1994, when Nelson Mandela became president.

Since 1994 the ANC has been the governing party at the national level, though it has faced increasing challenges, including internal factionalism and criticism over governance and corruption. The party espouses a broad left‑of‑center ideology rooted in nonracial democracy, social democracy, and economic transformation, with policies aimed at addressing inequality, land reform, and the expansion of public services, while navigating the tensions between market-oriented reforms and state-led development.

Organization and leadership are structured around a National Conference, a National Executive Committee, and a president plus deputy presidents, with numerous regional branches and affiliated mass organizations. Internationally, the ANC engages with regional bodies such as the Southern African Development Community and participates in broader African and global networks.