Leo Brent Bozell III, the conservative activist picked by President Donald Trump to represent the United States in South Africa, is preparing to begin his new role as ambassador after being confirmed by the US Senate. A history of opposition to the country's ruling party during its struggle against apartheid makes him a controversial choice.
Bozell is a prominent figure on the American right and a staunch supporter of Israel.
In the 1980s, he belonged to a pressure group opposed to any negotiations with the anti-apartheid African National Congress (ANC), then led by Nelson Mandela.
As South Africa's government is still led by the ANC, in a coalition of 10 parties, relations with Bozell are expected to be anything but easy.
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ANC 'terrorism'
Bozell, 69, is known for his deeply conservative views. His father was a Catholic anti-abortion activist, while his son Leo was among those who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, for which he was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.
Bozell founded several conservative groups, including the Media Research Center, which has the stated mission of identifying liberal bias.
In 1989, five years before the end of apartheid, the Media Research Center described the ANC as a "pro-communist, terrorist organisation".
All through the 1980s, Bozell was part of the "Coalition Against ANC Terrorism", an alliance of more than 30 right-wing American groups. He wrote then that he was "proud" to be a member and, in 2013, complained on Twitter that the mainstream media "mythologises" Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president.
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Diplomatic low point
Experts see Bozell as a novice in terms of international relations and believe he has little knowledge of Africa.
He has never served in the foreign service, nor has he lived on the African continent.
Trump previously nominated him to lead the US Agency for Global Media – a now-closed organisation that oversaw Voice of America and Radio Free Europe – but later withdrew the bid to put Bozell forward as ambassador.
His confirmation comes after a year of diplomatic tension between the US and South Africa.
Trump froze aid to South Africa in February 2025, accusing the ANC-led government of mistreating the country's white minority via a land reform law that he alleges allows property to be seized from white farmers.
The following month, South Africa's ambassador to the US was recalled to Pretoria after describing American policy as "white supremacy". The post remains vacant.
The US administration also refused to participate in the G20 summit in Johannesburg last November. It has excluded South Africa from the list of countries invited to the next G20 summit, to be held in the US later this year.
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Afrikaner 'refugees'
Bozell will oversee the implementation of Trump's refugee programme, which explicitly prioritises Afrikaners.
South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation has rejected the scheme as resting on the "factually inaccurate" premise that white South Africans are racially persecuted.
The South African lawsuit against Israel for genocide in Gaza before the International Court of Justice is another bone of contention. Bozell has indicated that he intends to pressure the South African authorities to withdraw the case.
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South African news website IOL reported that Bozell also promised to tackle what he called South Africa's "geostrategic drift" towards Washington's international rivals, including Russia, China and Iran.
Despite his confirmation in a Senate vote last month, Bozell remains the ambassador-designate and under strict diplomatic protocol, he cannot perform official acts or formally represent the US government until he presents his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has to accept them.
He replaces the previous US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, who was appointed by President Joe Biden.
